A Story With No Phanpy
by missingphanpy
Summary: Kamon starts his SoulSilver Pokémon journey, and absolutely everything goes wrong at once. The cast includes a traitorous Cyndaquil, a vengeful Totodile, and a trainer who doesn't quite understand that his Pokémon actually have feelings. Don't expect him to figure it out. Also, all the Phanpy are gone for some reason. No doubt they'll turn up eventually.
1. Chapter 1: Unknown

The cold, horrible darkness cloaked the entity's body, grasping like a pair of frozen tentacles.

The entity wanted to scream. It had to scream. But its world had no sound, so its screams would go unheard. The haunting terror of speaking, but hearing no sound could drive one to madness. The entity should know. It had reached madness years ago.

The cold came in shocks; first you would barely feel it, and then it would suddenly overwhelm you. Choking, grabbing, and forcing the life right out of you. There was nothing you could do. There was nowhere in this horrible place that you could escape it. Any other creature would have been killed…

But not the entity. The prison had been constructed explicitly to keep the entity alive. It was condemned here forever, and nobody had any intent of giving the entity the freedom of death.

That was good. The entity did not care how long it suffered. Eventually it would break free. And then those imprisoned it would suffer. They should have killed it… it certainly would have killed them, if given the chance. But they had a warped sense of justice, and were convinced that murder was fundamentally wrong. The entity thought that reasoning was garbage; they simply wanted the entity to suffer for what it did to them. Killing it would be too easy.

And so the entity had been banished here. Forever set apart from the Pokémon world, condemned, alone, forgotten…

That was how it had been for thousands of years, as the entity slowly honed its psychic powers. It had been a Pokémon once as well, after all. One of its attacks was based around disappearing and reappearing somewhere else, and it had been working on modifying this attack to escape this place. It had worked at it for thousands of years…

And it had failed. The entity could no more escape this world than it could spontaneously transform into a big pink Clefairy. And it certainly didn't want to do _that._ But while the entity couldn't manifest in the Pokémon world fully, it found that with extreme concentration, it could make tiny, tiny adjustments to the Pokémon world. Moving a twig here, and dropping a stone there. All pointless actions… unless you had a thousand years of foresight to alter the future in very, very slight ways. You might cause a cold wind so a woman would run home for her jacket… and meet her future husband. Then you might interrupt a TV show their son was watching twenty years later… keeping him from seeing an army commercial and enlisting in a war overseas. All this would lead to the future the entity intended. A future where it was free.

The entity called out: "Future sight."

A flash of images barraged the entity. The images came and went in seconds, and it took ages to learn to control them. A group of men in black suits standing near a massive tower, a Gyarados deformed and mutated, a fenced woods where strange Pokémon from far-off lands roamed free and trainers gave chase…

And in the center of it all was the trainer.

He wasn't a trainer yet, the entity knew. But he would be, soon enough. And the entity knew what would happen next. It had examined this particular strand of the future hundreds of times; even manipulated events so the trainer's parents would meet. And now the entity knew what would happen.

This trainer would set out on his Pokémon journey today... and that would lead to the entity being freed.

The entity would have laughed. It remembered the sound of its own laughter... a rumbling noise like approaching thunder. But in this world silence was everything, and the entity hadn't heard its own voice in over a thousand years.

The entity peered closer at the trainer's future. He was barely more than a child now… a boy by the name of Kamon. He was sitting at a computer screen in his home in New Bark Town. He was watching a tutorial narrated by the famous Professor Oak…

"I WILL FIRST TELL YOU IMPORTANT THINGS ABOUT THIS GAME," said Professor Oak.

The trainer frowned and clicked past the tutorial. "I know this already," he muttered. "Why can't I skip this part?"

"PLEASE TOUCH ANY TOPIC YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT ON THE LOWER SCREEN."

The trainer clicked the "No Info Needed" button. The entity knew that the boy didn't want this tutorial. His mother suspected that the reason the young Pokémon Professor was calling him today was to give him his first Pokémon… but she didn't know for sure. So she insisted on having him watch this tutorial, just to be safe. The trainer's mother was overbearing, and the entity should know… it had monitored her entire life.

Now Professor Oak appeared on the tutorial screen. The entity knew of him, as well.

"SORRY TO KEEP YOU WAITING!" Professor Oak grinned. "WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF POKEMON! MY NAME IS PROFESSOR OAK." Professor Oak smiled, as if this was some sort of shocking revelation. Even if the entity hadn't watched Oak for his entire life, the Professor's name was printed in bold on the cover of the tutorial's DVD case. "BUT EVERYONE CALLS ME THE POKEMON PROFESSOR."

"BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER, I'D LIKE TO TELL YOU A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS WORLD!"

"I wonder if Mom would notice if I muted this," Kamon said to nobody in particular.

"THIS WORLD IS WIDELY INHABITED BY CREATURES KNOWN AS POKEMON." Professor Oak clicked a Pokéball and a small Marill popped out. "WE HUMANS LIVE ALONGSIDE POKEMON AS FRIENDS." Professor Oak patted the Marill, which looked like it would rather be anywhere else in the world.

"AT TIMES WE PLAY TOGETHER, AND AT OTHER TIMES WE WORK TOGETHER."

"And sometimes we fight together," the entity said. "And that doesn't end well for anyone at all. Certainly not for you, Professor."

"SOME PEOPLE USE THEIR POKEMON TO BATTLE AND DEVELOP CLOSER BONDS WITH THEM."

Professor Oak recalled the Marill and turned directly to the screen. "NOW WHY DON'T YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF? ARE YOU A BOY? OR ARE YOU A GIRL?"

The entity admittedly wasn't sure why Professor Oak was asking for the trainer's gender. It was no expert on human emotions, but this seemed sort of out there.

"WON'T YOU PLEASE TELL ME?" said Professor Oak, and that was around the time Kamon skipped through the rest of the tutorial. Holding his finger down on the mouse pad, the remainder of the tutorial passed in less than ten seconds.

"SOYOU'REABOYTHENPLEASETELLMEYOURNAMEYOURNAMEISKAM ONKAMONAREYOUREADYYOURVERYOWNTALEOFGRANDADVENTUREI SABOUTTOUNFOLDFUNEXPERIENCESDIFFICULTEXPERIENCESTH ERE'SSOMUCHWAITINGFORYOUDREAMSADVENTURESLET'SGOTOT HEWORLDOFPOKEMONI'LLSEEYOULATER!"

The tutorial ended, and Kamon left the bedroom. The entity knew the boy wouldn't return for a long time. He would go off to visit Professor Elm, and then he would receive his first Pokémon. The entity briefly peered inside the Pokémon lab next door, and saw the Pokémon Kamon would choose next to two others. Each of those Pokémon would have a role, but it was the ball in the middle that the entity was most concerned with. That held the Pokémon Kamon would choose… and that Pokémon was the only reason Kamon mattered at all. The trainer was just a means to the end. It was the Pokémon that the entity needed.

The entity watched Kamon descend the stairs to speak with his mother.

"Hi Kamon!" His mother smiled as he descended the stairs. "You're finally awake! Your friend Lyra was just here."

"She was playing hide-and-seek with her Marill." Kamon's mother smiled again. "Oh, I almost forgot! Our acquaintance, Professor Elm, was looking for you."

"You did forget," the entity thought. "I blew an elm leaf in through your kitchen window, and that reminded you."

"He said he had a favour to ask of you. You know where the lab is, right? It's right next door to us."

The boy lived next door to Professor Elm. New Bark Town was lucky that such a renowned Pokémon Professor would choose to live in such a rural place… or rather, it seemed like luck. The entity had inspired a love for nature in Professor Elm when he was still a young boy, and today Elm enjoyed conducting research in the forests of Route 29. Soon Elm would give the trainer his Pokémon. And then his role in this would be finished.

"By the way, do you have everything you need to go out? Here, use this bag to carry things… This is your trainer card… Here you can save a record of your progress… These are also rather helpful… Just try touching the buttons and you'll know what to do in no time."

"What!?" Kamon asked. "That last part made no sense."

"I mean the buttons on your bag." His mother pointed to the yellow bag. "By the way, was that tutorial useful?"

Kamon shrugged. The entity knew the boy had hated the tutorial… but he wasn't about to say so and insult his own mother. The entity wondered how Kamon would feel if he knew that his trainer's journey, and the Pokémon he would choose as his starter, would directly lead to his mother's painful and violent death.

Kamon's mother gave him a quick hug. "Professor Elm has been waiting for you, dear. Please go help him."

Waving goodbye to his mother, Kamon walked out the door. The second he did, a Marill crashed into him.

The Marill belonged to Kamon's friend Lyra, the entity knew. One of the Marill's ears always bent down and it had a funny smell to it… or so everyone said. Smell was another sense lost to the entity in this horrible world.

From far down the street, Lyra waved to him. Kamon waved back. Then Lyra whistled, and the Marill ran towards her.

"She's trained it to do that; you'd think she could housebreak the thing." Kamon smiled and walked towards the lab.

"Go," the entity thought. "Get your Pokémon, and begin your journey. Catch as many Pokémon as your little heart desires. Take your precious gym challenges. And when you're finished, come find me."

It couldn't help it. The entity began to laugh. It heard nothing, but it didn't mind.

"Your starter and I will make this world burn."


	2. Chapter 2: Theo

Cyndaquil thought: "Do you want to be friends?"

The red haired stranger looked back at him. At least, Cyndaquil thought it was him the stranger was looking at. He'd been peering through the window for the last twenty minutes, staring at the Pokéballs positioned in a small holding case. Cyndaquil thought he was a nervous trainer who hadn't quite got up the nerve to ask Elm for a Pokémon yet. Once or twice Cyndaquil had thought the trainer was looking at him, but he seemed to be eyeing Totodile instead.

"He's going to pick me!" Totodile smirked. "You can tell by the way he looks at me. And did you see his expression? That's Pokémon Champion material right there."

"I guess," Cyndaquil said. "He looks sort of angry, though. Did you notice that?"

Chikorita shuffled in her Pokéball. "I think he-"

"Nobody cares what you think," Totodile smirked. "It's going to be me. Between the two of you, you couldn't take down a Cleffa. But look at my teeth. Look at my claws. I'm the starter of choice, hands down."

"That kid might not even be the new trainer," Cyndaquil said. "I saw a picture of the new trainer yesterday, and he had black hair. Maybe this guy's a reporter?"

"He looks like-" Chikorita began.

"Of course he's the trainer!" Totodile smirked. "And he's going to pick me!"

Cyndaquil didn't care if the red haired kid was the new trainer or not. He just wanted someone to finally choose him. Chikorita felt the same way, and even Totodile (though he wasn't likely to admit it). Tame Pokémon everywhere hoped for the chance to become somebody's starter. Starters always had special bonds with their trainers, and Cyndaquil couldn't wait for that. He'd seen so many starter Pokémon leave on journeys, and now it might be his turn.

"Whoever he picks, we should be happy for them." Cyndaquil smiled at his friends. "One of us gets to go out and explore the world. We'll get to make a lifelong friend in our trainers and we'll get to challenge all the gyms!"

"Now you sound like that tutorial Professor Oak sends out," Totodile smirked.

"My point is we shouldn't be jealous," Cyndaquil said. "This is a great opportunity for somebody."

"You're right-" Chikorita began.

"I hear someone!" Totodile shouted. "Somebody's coming into the lab!"

Cyndaquil looked for the red haired boy, but he was still standing outside. Then Cyndaquil looked at Chikorita, and saw she was shaking.

"What's wrong?" Cyndaquil asked.

"What if he doesn't pick me?" Chikorita cried. "I'm no good for the first two gyms, you know. What if I'm stuck in this boring lab forever?"

"Hey come on," Cyndaquil smiled. "What are the odds of that happening?"

The door opened, and a dark haired boy walked in. Professor Elm had been sitting by his computer, pretending to do important research but really just checking his email. He stood up and walked towards the trainer.

"Hi Kamon!" he called. "I've been waiting for you!"

"Pick me, pick me, pick me!" Totodile whispered with his claws crossed.

"You know, we don't even know for certain why he's here," Cyndaquil said. "It might just be to mow the lawn or something."

"You're just jealous!" Totodile cried. "Because he's never going to pick you! NEVER!"

Cyndaquil sighed. Totodile was really starting to get on his nerves.

Meanwhile, Professor Elm was still speaking.

"Do you know anything about my research? As you know, Pokémon are carried in Pokéballs these days. But before the Pokéball was invented, people used to walk with Pokémon. Just like your friend Lyra does!"

"Who's Lyra?" asked Chikorita.

Cyndaquil shrugged. "Maybe some kind of rare Pokémon?"

Professor Elm continued to speak. "Pokéballs are great because you can carry many Pokémon. But walking with Pokémon must have some advantages. It could have something to do with how Pokémon grow or evolve… So I'm going to give you a Pokémon!"

All of a sudden the room went wild.

The boy's face lit up, and he pumped his fist in the air. Chikorita began to wag her leaf in happiness. Cyndaquil leaned in closer to the edge of the holding machine. Totodile shouted in joy and his Pokéball began to wiggle.

Kamon headed to the Pokéballs with a look of confidence and excitement. Professor Elm continued to speak.

"Can you walk beside this Pokémon, outside of its Pokéball, to see if this brings any special feelings or bonds between Pokémon and people?"

"Absolutely," Kamon smiled. He tried to remain confident, but to Cyndaquil he looked like a kid that had just been given free reign at a candy store.

"Special bonds! IN YOUR FACE!" Totodile cried. "I'm going off with my trainer, and we'll become best friends with our special bonds! Meanwhile the two of you get to rot in this one horse town forever!"

"What's a horse?" Chikorita asked.

"It doesn't matter!" Totodile cheered. "Maybe one of you can join up with that pouty redhead outside; I don't care! I'm going to be a CHAMPION!"

Cynadquil gritted his teeth. Now Totodile was really getting under his skin.

Meanwhile, Professor Elm continued to speak. "That device over there has some Pokémon you could choose from… Oh, hey! I got an email! Hm… Uh-huh… OK…"

"What's going on!?" Chikorita cried. "Why did they stop? Isn't that boy going to pick one of us?"

"He's just building up suspense!" Totodile said. "We all know he's going to pick me, so this is just for dramatic tension!" Despite his confidence, Totodile looked concerned too.

Professor Elm returned from his computer. "Hey, listen. I have this acquaintance that people call Mr. Pokémon."

Cyndaquil, Chikorita and Totodile all groaned at once. Mr. Pokémon was an annoying eccentric who came by Elm's for dinner every now and again, ranting about some great discovery. They were always ridiculous. Last time he'd thought he discovered proof that Mew could be found on Route 24, and he wanted Professor Elm to loan him an Abra to help him get there. Professor Elm had told him some very kind words, but all of them meant "no".

Kamon looked confused and Professor Elm explained further.

"He keeps finding weird things and raving about his discoveries. Anyway, I just got an email from him saying that this time it's real."

Cyndaquil snorted. Mr. Pokémon had said the same thing about that ridiculous Missingno theory. And they all knew how that had turned out.

"It's probably another Pokémon Egg," Professor Elm admitted. "But we're still so busy with our Pokémon research… Wait! I know! You can go in our place, right? Can we count on you? You can choose one of the Pokémon over there."

Professor Elm pointed at the machine, and all three Pokéballs began to wiggle again.

"Pick me!" Chikorita cried. "Please, I don't want to be alone!"

"Pick me!" Cyndaquil shouted. "We'll be best friends forever!"

"I'M BETTER THAN ALL OF THEM!" Totodile screamed. "I AM AN ARCEUS AMONG PICHUS!"

Kamon blinked. "Uhhh… why are the Pokéballs wiggling like that?"

"They're just excited," Elm explained. "Go ahead and pick one."

Slowly, Kamon walked towards the machine.

"He's going to pick me!" Totodile smirked. "And you're going to be stuck in this nowhere one horse town forever!"

"I still don't know what a horse is!" cried Chikorita.

"Who do you think you'll pick?" Professor Elm asked the trainer.

"It's tough," Kamon admitted. "But I'm leaning towards Totodile."

And that was when Cyndaquil snapped.

Kamon had his back turned to the machine while he was speaking with Professor Elm. Cyndaquil shifted to the left, and his ball began to roll. As Cyndaquil began to run, the ball rolled and gained speed. It sped towards Totodile, who hadn't even noticed.

Cyndaquil gave a small squeak of triumph, and his Pokéball crashed into Totodile's. Totodile's Pokeball rolled right off the machine and onto the ground.

"What… NO!" Totodile screamed. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

Kamon looked back at the machine. "Hey Professor, one of your Pokéballs is gone."

Profesor Elm blinked and walked over to the machine. "So it is. Well I must admit I keep a bit of a messy lab. But have no fear, we'll find that missing Pokéball. If you and my assistant help me search, we should find it before the end of the day."

Kamon looked like he had been waiting years to get a Pokémon, and he wasn't delaying his journey another second. He also didn't look eager to start his Pokémon quest by cleaning up a dusty old lab. "That's okay," he said. "I'll just take Cyndaquil."

Cyndaquil's heart leapt. It was him! He was leaving New Bark Town and starting his own journey! He looked over at Chikorita in excitement, expecting her to congratulate him.

She didn't even want to look at him.

Now the guilt was starting to set in. What had he just done!? He didn't deserve a trainer now! This wasn't the kind of Pokémon he was – who only got what he wanted by sabotaging everyone else. He tried to jerk his tiny head towards Totodile's ball, in the hopes that Kamon or Elm would notice.

"He looks excited," Professor Elm said. "I think he really likes you."

"NO!" Cyndaquil cried. "That wasn't… we're supposed to be friends forever! A trainer and his starter are supposed to have a special bond! We're not supposed to start off with a lie!" He turned to Chikorita. "You have to believe me… I didn't think… it's not my fault!"

_"How could you…"_ Chikorita couldn't even finish the sentence.

Kamon picked up Cyndaquil's Pokéball and turned to Professor Elm, who nodded approvingly.

"You'll take Cyndaquil, the Fire-type Pokémon?"

"No!" Cyndaquil cried. "NO!"

Kamon nodded.

"Congratulations!" Professor Elm clapped his hands together. "You'll remember this moment forever! Do you want to give him a nickname?"

"I think so," Kamon replied. "I wanted to name him Theogony, or Theo for short."

Cyndaquil, a.k.a. Theogony a.k.a. Theo, gave a small squeak of disappointment. Kamon pressed the circular white button and released him from his Pokéball.

"I'm a trainer's Pokémon now," Cyndaquil thought. "But it can't happen like this! I betrayed the professor! I betrayed this trainer! And I betrayed that poor innocent water type! Oh sweet Arceus, what did I just do!?"

Kamon walked back to Professor Elm and Cyndaquil followed him sadly.

"How do you like walking with your Pokémon?" Professor Elm asked the trainer. "It's not bad, is it? You can take it all the way to Mr. Pokémon's house."

Cyndaquil wasn't paying attention to the professor. He looked back at the small crack behind the machine, where Totodile's Pokéball was nestled next to a cobweb.

"I'm sorry," Cyndaquil squeaked. "I'm so sorry."

"You're sorry?" Totodile growled, his voice muffled inside the Pokéball. "Prove it. The trainer let you out of the Pokéball now. So come get me."

Cyndaquil froze.

"Show them where I am," Totodile repeated. "I'm the one this kid wants, and you know it. So walk over here, pick me up, and bring me back to my trainer."

"I have to go get him," Cyndaquil thought to himself. "I need to go. It's the right thing to do."

He didn't move a muscle.

"Hey, did you hear something?" Kamon asked. "I thought I heard a noise behind that machine."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Professor Elm replied. "Probably just the Sentrets going through my garbage again. Anyway, if your Pokémon gets hurt…You should heal it with this machine. It's so easy to use. Just check the PC on my desk!"

Cyndaquil had to listen up. Professor Elm was talking about things that concerned his trainer. He focused on the professor and tried to ignore the two Pokéballs lying in the corner.

"Mr. Pokémon goes everywhere and finds rarities. His house is past Cherrygrove City. Go north a little past Cherrygrove. I'm counting on you, Kamon!"

"And me," Cyndaquil thought. "The Professor's counting on me, too. I can't let him down."

"Get back here!" Totodile roared. "You traitor! You're no better than Team Rocket! You stole me from my rightful trainer! CYNDAQUIL, GET BACK HERE!"

"My name is Theo," Cyndaquil thought, and he followed his new trainer out of the lab.


	3. Chapter 3: Kamon

As Kamon left to exit the lab, he was stopped by Elm's assistant. The assistant, a man named Kevin, had been helping Elm for as long as Kamon could remember.

"Kamon, I want you to have these to help you with your task." Kevin held out a shopping bag full of ten potions. "Pokémon are weak in the beginning. Don't hesitate to use a potion if you think yours is in danger."

Kamon thanked Kevin, but he privately knew that the potions wouldn't be necessary. Other people's Pokémon may be weak, but not his. He was going to be champion of Johto, and nobody was going to stand in his way. Maybe he could sell the potions in Cherrygrove City.

Kamon waved goodbye to Professor Elm and Kevin the assistant, and he left the lab. He stepped out into the bright sunlight, and the wind ruffled his hair. Squinting to see, he spotted Lyra waiting outside for him, alongside her trusty Marill. He smiled and waved.

"Kamon!" Lyra shouted. "So you picked… a Cyndaquil! That's a cute Pokémon you have!"

Kamon privately wondered if she'd have said the same thing had he chosen the Totodile he'd wanted. He wondered faintly what had happened to it.

"When you walk with it, it'll become more friendly!" Lyra exclaimed. "You should turn around and talk to it sometimes, too."

That wasn't something Kamon had ever really considered. He didn't really see the point of actually bonding with a Pokémon, but… No, that wasn't true. Some attacks like Return were based on happiness. He'd have to try this 'bonding' thing sometime.

"Oh, that's right!" Why don't you show it to your mom?" Lyra grinned. "I bet she'd love it! See ya!"

Kamon waved goodbye as Lyra walked off down the street towards Route 29. He heard a soft squeak from below, and looked down at his Cyndaquil.

Now that they were alone for the first time, Kamon took his first real look at his new Pokémon. Cyndaquil was smaller than the other two choices, and it looked cuter than he might've liked. The flames spurting from its back were a nice touch. It was no Totodile… now that thing looked really tough. But he was sure he could make do with this one.

"Hi there Theo," Kamon stuck out his hand. "I'm your new trainer."

Theo sniffed Kamon's hand reluctantly. It looked upset about something.

Kamon pulled out his Pokédex. "It says here you have a Hardy nature. You don't look Hardy to me. Sort of…. Squishy, to be honest. But I suppose that's not a real nature."

Theo the Cyndaquil squeaked, and rolled over.

"I can work with Hardy though," Kamon said. "Let's take you to see… hey, what's going on over there?"

A red haired kid about Kamon's age was peering through Elm's window. Kamon hadn't seen him in town before, and you got to know New Bark Town's population in less than a week. Kamon wasn't sure he liked the look of him.

Kamon walked over to the kid. The kid hadn't noticed Kamon, and was muttering to himself.

"So this is the famous Elm Pokémon Lab…"

Kamon opened his mouth to speak, but that was when the kid saw him.

"...What are you staring at?" The kid frowned. He gave Kamon a short, sharp shove and pushed him back onto the main street. Kamon stumbled backwards, gave a wordless cry, and fell to the ground. The kid gave Kamon a glare of contempt, and returned to the window.

"What the…?" Kamon was more confused than hurt. "Who does he think he is!? Well he's not the only one who can surprise attack somebody. Theo, use tackle!"

Theo looked up at him with a look of confusion.

"Tackle!" Kamon repeated. "That guy over there just attacked your trainer! Show him we mean business!"

Theo licked his paws.

Kamon frowned. "You don't attack people!? That's annoying. It would've made my life a lot easier if you would. I bet the Totodile would have been up for… never mind. Pokémon ethical code, I guess. We'll work on training you later." He beckoned for Theo to follow, and the Cyndaquil obeyed. "Come on, I'm going to show you to my mom."

Theo followed happily, the flames on his back wafting through the air.

Kamon returned back home with his new Pokémon. It had worked. Elm had finally given him his own Pokémon. And now he only had to visit home one last time, before taking off and bidding this useless town goodbye for good. Kamon wondered briefly why a famous researcher like Professor Elm would waste his time in a Spoink's heap like New Bark Town. But it didn't matter anymore.

"Oh! Kamon!" His mother pointed at the Cyndaquil in shock when he walked in the door. "That's a cute Pokémon you have. Professor Elm must have given it to you?"

Kamon nodded, and explained to his mother what had happened.

"Oh, Professor Elm has a task for you, you say? What kind of task?"

Kamon explained further.

"I see. That sounds a little difficult. But when someone makes that kind of request of you, it must be important!"

Kamon agreed completely. He was a little honoured by the Professor's trust in him. It was the sort of request you'd ask of a future Champion.

"Oh, that's right!" Kamon's mother exclaimed. "I completely forgot! Your Pokégear came back from the repair shop! Here you go!"

She handed him the Pokégear.

"The Pokémon Gear… or Pokégear, as it's often called, is what every trainer should have."

"I know that. I have one." Kamon loved his mother, but she tended to state the obvious a little too often.

"Guess what?" His mother clapped her hands together. "You can use the Pokégear to make a phone call, too. Do you remember how?"

"Yes," Kamon said. "And please Mom, don't tell me how it works. The last thing I want is another tutorial."

"Just power on the Pokégear and touch the telephone button, OK?"

"Mom, you're not listening to me."

"The names of the people you can call are automatically registered."

_"I already own this thing, I don't need you to explain-"_

"Just select one to give him or her a call."

"AARRRGGHHH!"

"Wow, I can't believe it's so easy to make a phone call!"

Kamon smacked his forehead. Even his Cyndaquil looked bored by now. Mercifully, his mom seemed to have been finished talking. Awkwardly, Kamon moved towards her to hug her goodbye. He'd never been much good at these long farewells.

"Mom," Kamon began. "I wanted to say…"

"What's wrong?" his mom asked. "Did you forget how to go to Mr. Pokémon's house?"

Kamon was out the door before she could finish.

"Go north on Route 30, and… hey, come back! Where are you going!?"


	4. Chapter 4: Theo

Guilt.

Guilt.

Oh, so much guilt.

Theo crawled along with his head low as he and Kamon passed Professor Elm's laboratory. Theo had thought he would've been thrilled to look back on the lab one last time before exploring the big wide world. He was going to see the Dragon's Den. He was going to see Mt. Silver. But after the business with Totodile, Theo felt a sinking pit in his stomach as he and Kamon passed the lab. He only hoped Kamon didn't turn in to say goodbye to Professor Elm. He didn't think he could face Chikorita and Totodile again.

"Wait one second!" The familiar voice of Professor Elm nearly gave Theo a heart attack. The professor knew. Of course he knew. He'd found Totodile's Pokéball tossed behind the machine, and he'd pieced everything together. Kamon turned back as the Professor walked towards them. Theo's tiny heart was hammering.

"I almost completely forgot about this…" said Professor Elm. "Here, I'll give you my number." Professor Elm took Kamon's Pokégear and keyed his number in.

"Thanks," said Kamon.

"I'll call you if anything comes up," said Professor Elm. He bid Kamon farewell and walked back to his lab.

It was over. Theo had gotten away with it. Kamon had wanted the Totodile, but Theo had knocked Totodile's Pokéball away, and Kamon had chosen him instead. They might not find Totodile for weeks.

Oh sweet Arceus, they might not find him for weeks. Totodile was stuck in his Pokéball! Where was he supposed to get food!?

Theo was terrified. This wasn't how a journey with a trainer was supposed to start out! What if Professor Elm NEVER found Totodile!? The poor guy couldn't eat inside a Pokéball! He couldn't drink! He couldn't even use the bathroom!

Now Theo couldn't stop thinking about the horrible fate that he might've condemned Totodile to, out of his own desperation to be a trainer's first choice. Theo gave a squeak of terror and began to race back towards Professor Elm's lab. His cries attracted Kamon's attention… as well as the red haired stranger lurking just outside the lab. Theo ignored the stranger in favour of his trainer, something he would come to regret in the weeks to come.

"Hey," Kamon protested. "What are you doing?"

"Cynda-quil! Quil!" Theo squeaked and pointed at the lab door.

"You don't belong to Professor Elm anymore," Kamon said. "He gave you to me. I'm sure he explained this to you."

"Quil! Cynda-quil!"

"I thought Pokémon were supposed to be excited about starting their journeys."

"QUIIIIIILLLLL!" Theo waved his tiny paws in desperation, trying to make his trainer understand.

Kamon sighed. "Do I have to recall you into your Pokéball? I will if I have to… I don't really get the point of the whole 'walking with Pokémon' thing anyway. You walk a lot slower than me and it's annoying."

Theo hung his head in defeat. He had failed. Totodile was wrong; Theo wasn't as bad as Team Rocket. He was even worse.

"We'll come visit the professor," Kamon said in a kinder tone. "It looks like he means a lot to you. But come on, this is a brand new journey. You're leaving this dung heap behind. Why aren't you excited?"

Theo couldn't help it. He was excited… at least, a little. Did that make him a terrible Pokémon?

Theo followed his trainer out onto Route 29.

The winds of New Bark Town had died down, and Theo could hear the cries of wild Pokémon off in the distance. Kamon smiled, and Theo could tell he had heard them too.

"This'll be a great spot for some training," Kamon said. "For the both of us. Follow me into that grass."

Theo obliged. He was about to have his very first Pokémon battle! He'd watched them before on TV and seen simulations in Professor Elm's lab, but he'd never been in one himself. He had practised with Chikorita and Totodile, but that… was…

That reminded him of Totodile. And now Theo was depressed again.

"Here we go," Kamon said. "Keep quiet now. There should be something around here… hey!"

A Sentret popped out of the tall grass. It looked at Kamon with a dopey expression and perched on its tail.

"Sen! Sentret!" the Sentret said.

"These things always tore up my mom's garden," Kamon said. "Okay Theo, use tackle!"

Theo obliged. The Sentret was knocked back towards a tree, and responded by using Foresight. Theo had no earthly idea why; it must have thought he was a ghost or something.

"Oh good, we have a dumb one!" Kamon grinned. "Hit it with another Tackle!"

Theo obliged, and knocked the Sentret back towards a different tree. The Sentret looked annoyed now, and finally seemed to have figured out that actually attacking something made for a good battle strategy. It ran back towards Theo and delivered a powerful Scratch attack.

The move was a critical, and it took nearly half of Theo's health. Theo cried out as he fell to the ground. A critical the first time he ever gets attacked, in his very first battle. It seemed like Arceus was trying to tell him something. He wasn't supposed to be on this journey in the first place; he'd stolen the role of the Pokémon that deserved it. And now karma was teaching him a lesson.

Kamon didn't seem to have noticed. "Use another Tackle!" he shouted. Theo obliged, but the Sentret seemed to have figured out that Scratch attacks were working better than creepy glares. It delivered another Scratch that sent Theo reeling.

"One more Tackle!" Kamon shouted. "Not that there are any other choices, you are level 5 and all…"

The Sentret readied for another Scratch, but Theo was quicker. He delivered a final Tackle that decided the match. Sentret crashed into the ground.

"Hm," Kamon said. "Not bad. We need a lot of work, though."

Theo was ecstatic. He'd just won his very first battle! This Sentret had been living out in the wilderness for years, but Theo, the little Cyndaquil from the lab, who'd never been beyond New Bark Town, had defeated it! Theo scampered over to Kamon and yipped happily.

"I might have caught that thing," Kamon said. "But they don't sell Pokéballs in New Bark Town. Maybe there'll be some in Cherrygrove City. It's just as well… Sentrets aren't good for much anyway."

Theo yipped again.

Kamon looked down at the Cyndaquil with reservation. Theo looked up at him. Then, awkwardly, he reached down and petted the fire Pokemon.

"Oh. You probably want… I don't know, praise or something." Kamon patted Theo on the head. "Er… good work," Kamon said formally.

Theo smiled and stretched out in the long grass.

"I have a trainer," Theo thought. "It doesn't matter what happened back at the lab. He's mine, and he cares about me." For the first time all day, he thought things might work out alright.

He was sure wrong about that.


	5. Chapter 5: Kamon

"Better!" said Kamon. "You're doing a lot better!"

The Sentret's second Foresight was just as ineffective as its first. Theo delivered another Tackle that knocked it to the ground. Kamon quickly scanned the area, and found more rustling grass.

Another Sentret popped out. "Where are all these things coming from?" Kamon thought. "What are they, Zubat!?" The Sentret delivered a Foresight, and Kamon wondered why so many Sentret seemed to think his Cyndaquil was a ghost of some kind.

After two failed Foresights, the Sentret wised up and used Scratch. Theo delivered another Tackle by then, and knocked the normal Pokémon out.

Kamon's Pokégear blipped. He checked it and received a message.

THEOGONY GREW TO LEVEL 6! THEOGONY LEARNED SMOKESCREEN!

His first Pokémon's first new move! Kamon was impressed, though his feelings changed when he saw Theo whimpering on the ground.

The Sentret's final Scratch attack had nearly done him in. His health was low, and even with his new attack, Kamon doubted Theo could last another fight.

"I promised myself I would save this," Kamon muttered. He fished through his bag for a potion. He took out the small canister and sprayed in on Theo. Theo barked happily as the misty spray landed on him.

"Now make that one count," Kamon said. "There's a Pokémon Centre in Cherrygrove City, and I'd like to reach there by nightfall."

Theo barked and snuggled up against Kamon's leg. He really wished the Cyndaquil would stop doing that. The Totodile wouldn't have snuggled, Kamon imagined. At what point did Theo's "Hardy" nature kick in, exactly?

Kamon continued to wander the fields of Route 29. He spied on oddly coloured rock, picked it up, and saw it was a potion. He shook it. It felt pretty full, so he placed it in a bag.

"This will help," he said. "But I'd rather we reached Cherrygrove soon. Professor Elm still wants us to meet with Mr. Pokémon and I don't want to disappoint him." He pulled out the Pokégear to check how much farther Cherrygrove was.

"That's interesting." Kamon angled the Pokégear down so Theo could see. "There's a route aiming north here. It heads straight to Blackthorn City. I didn't know about that; maybe it was just built."

"Quil?" Theo asked.

"I know, but Mr. Pokémon can wait a few hours." Kamon pocketed the Pokégear. "This I want to check out."

Within three hours, Kamon and Theo had reached the gate to route 46. They passed through a gate and emerged in a small clearing. There was a thick, lush field of grass, and a small cliff surrounding it. If Kamon squinted he could make out a path beyond the cliff, but he couldn't reach it.

"I guess that's what flying types are for," Kamon said. "It's a dead end. Ah well, might as well see if there are any new Pokémon here."

Kamon stepped forward to examine the cliff and saw a strange grey shape wiggling in the ground. He stepped closer and a Geodude popped out of the dirt.

"Great," Kamon said. "We can finally fight something other than a normal type. Theo, use Tackle."

Theo ran at the Geodu de and rammed into him, but the attack bounced off. The Geodude responded with its own Tackle, and Theo cried out in pain. He fell back towards Kamon.

"Oh fantastic," Kamon said. "We can barely hit the thing. What I wouldn't give for a water type. Okay Theo, try Smokescreen."

Theo coughed and a thick cloud of black smoke filled the air. Geodude tried to Tackle Theo again, but the smoke blurred his vision and the attack missed.

"Keep at it!" Kamon shouted and Theo filled the air with more smoke. Geodude crouched into a ball and used Defense Curl.

"Now use Leer!" Kamon shouted. Theo snarled and delivered the attack. Geodude responded with another Tackle, and Theo's health dropped to the red.

"This is just perfect," Kamon said. "Try another Tackle." He didn't even think it would work, and he was right about that. Geodude countered with another Defense Curl.

"I don't believe this," Kamon sighed. "We're going to have to run away. This is humiliating. We couldn't defeat a pebble. I doubt a Gym Leader ever had this problem." He recalled Theo and fled from the field.

Shortly afterwards, Kamon was spraying Theo with another potion. "That battle was just embarrassing," he said. He wasn't even sure if the Cyndaquil was listening.

"We should've been able to take that thing. It's just a rock! A level 3 rock! But even if you knew fire type attacks, which you don't, we wouldn't have been able to beat it." He sighed. "Bet I wouldn't have had this problem if I'd chosen Totodile."

Theo gave a small squeak of fear, and looked up at his trainer.

"What?" Kamon said. "Are you listening to me now? No need to take it personally, but it's true. If I'd chosen the water type, I could've beaten that Geodude back there. Why are you looking at me like that?"

Theo looked panicked. He ran off into the bushes.

"Oh for Arceus' sake…" Kamon chased after Theo. "What's wrong? What did I say?" He found the Cyndaquil huddled in a hollowed out log. "What's the matter with you, are you sick? Do Pokémon even get sick!?"

The Cyndaquil whimpered. Kamon sighed.

"No, that's not it. Okay look, I'm sorry. You're a perfectly fine Pokémon, and I don't regret choosing you. Will you come out of the log, please?"

Theo continued to whimper. "That wasn't it either," Kamon thought. "It must be something else." He stared at the Cyndaquil for a moment. Incredibly, he looked _guilty._

"You… uh… you gave it your all against that Geodude back there. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

Theo remained in the log.

"Okay fine, you can sleep in the stupid log." Kamon hated expressing his feelings anyway. "I'll just make camp here tonight and maybe in the morning you'll feel like moving out of the moldy, ugly dead tree."

Something growled from the bushes. Kamon stepped towards it.

A Rattata popped out and growled at him.

"Oh hey, it's a Rattata." Kamon smiled faintly. "We haven't seen one of those yet. They look kind of cute; I don't know why trainers supposedly hate them all so much. They don't look so… ow!" The Rattata had leapt forward and bit his ankle.

Kamon kicked at it. "Oh, that's why! Get out of here!" The Rattata bit him again, this time nearly tearing through his jeans. "Ow, those teeth are sharp!"

Theo's head perked up. He looked outside the log.

"Oh you annoying piece of… ow!"

The Rattata growled.

"Okay, you little piece of vermin, it's on n… OW!"

The Rattata growled.

"OW! What is wrong with you!? These shoes are expensive!" Kamon had tried to swat the Rattata with the bag, but it dodged him.

Theo leapt towards the Rattata, and dealt it a Tackle attack. The Rattata fell back dazed. It looked at Theo to see if it would attack, thought the better of it, and ran off into the bushes.

Theo ran up to his trainer, who was examining his leg.

"It didn't break skin at least. Didn't tear the clothing either, so that's good. I'd hate to have to go crawling back to my mom for a change of clothes on my first night as a trainer." Then Kamon seemed to notice his Pokémon.

"Good… uh… good job, there. Theo." He awkwardly held out his hand and Theo sniffed it. Then he slowly patted the Cyndaquil on the head.

"Thanks," he said. "I appreciate that. But for the future, don't mention to anyone that you had to save me from a small purple rat."

Theo barked.

"I hope that means yes. Are you… maybe ready to keep going? I can walk into the night if you can."

Theo nodded his head. Kamon gave his Cyndaquil a small smile.

Relieved the emotional part was over, Kamon and Theo continued to head onward.


	6. Chapter 6: Theo

"You're a rookie trainer, aren't you? I can tell!"

Theo could tell immediately how annoyed his trainer was. Kamon was gritting his teeth, scraping his shoes against the pavement, and trying to drone the old man out. They'd barely set foot in Cherrygrove City before encountering this strange old man, who'd insisted on accompanying them as their tour guide. For an old man, he was surprisingly persistent.

"That's OK! Everyone is a rookie at some point!" The old man continued his tour without noticing Kamon and Theo's discomfort. "If you'd like, I can teach you a few things."

Kamon groaned. "That's alright. Really."

"OK, then! Follow me!"

Theo didn't move. Neither did Kamon. They were both considering making a break for it.

"Ohh… I'm sorry. I forgot that you weren't wearing the Running Shoes!" The old man laughed. "I'll try to go as slow as possible, so try keeping up!"

Theo squeaked in terror.

"No!" said Kamon. "I have running shoes! Really, these are running shoes! They're shoes! And I run in them! You can go as fast as you want, please!"

The man laughed. "Nonsense! Now I'll take you on the special, extra-long tour of Cherrygrove City."

Kamon sighed. Theo figured that at this rate, Mr. Pokémon's egg was likely to hatch before they got there.

The old man walked over to the nearest building. "This is a Pokémon Center. They heal your Pokémon in no time at all. You'll be relying on them a lot, so you better learn about them."

Theo wondered if there were any trainers in the world who actually didn't know what a Pokémon Center was. If there were, Theo didn't imagine they'd be trainers for very long.

The old man scurried next door. "This is a Pokémon Mart. They sell Pokéballs for catching wild Pokémon and other useful items."

Kamon looked faintly excited at that. Theo knew his trainer had been looking forward to buying his own Pokéballs since the journey had started. That said, the gigantic blue roof of the PokéMart was fairly easy to spot. Theo was sure Kamon could have found it on his own.

The man next pointed out a path leading outwards. The wood-cloaked path extended as far north as Theo could see.

"Route 30 is out this way," said the old man. "Trainers will be battling their Pokémon there."

Theo was excited at that. By winning trainer battles, he could prove himself to his trainer. He could show Kamon that he was the best choice of starter. What Kamon had said the day before about wanting Totodile as his starter had really stuck with Theo. He had ruined his trainer's first chance at the Pokémon he wanted. What kind of starter did that? They were supposed to have a special bond, but his relationship with Kamon had been built on something horrible. How could they be lifelong partners like this?

"Just put it aside," Theo thought to himself. "It's over now and there's nothing you can do. You'll be a great Pokémon for Kamon. The best thing to do is try your hardest and be the best Pokémon he could ever want. You'll make him forget all about that Totodile."

"If you go a little farther," the old man continued. "You'll see Mr. Pokémon's House." He walked further along. "This is the sea, as you can see."

"I have to stop you," Kamon said. "But your tour's been growing more and more pointless. First you pointed out buildings that any five year old in this world could identify, and now you're showing me the ocean, as if I don't know what that is. Why? What are you going to show me next, the grass? The air? My own face!?"

"Some Pokémon are found only in water." The old man smiled.

"He's not listening," Kamon said. He turned to Theo. "Alright, here's the plan. We run on three…"

But the old man had been listening to _that._ He grabbed Kamon's wrist as he prepared to run. "Tour's not over yet!" He dragged him down the street. "Here… It's my house!"

"What a fascinating tour," Kamon wrenched free. "Is it over now? Please say it's over and you're not going to show me the thread count of your carpet or something."

"For your effort keeping up with me, I'll give you my Running Shoes!" The old man smiled.

"Oh…" Kamon stammered. "Gosh, now I feel kind of bad. You didn't have to get me anything, and I've been kind of a jerk to you. Really, you don't…"

"They're still warm!" said the old man.

"Aaaand the guilt's gone," Kamon continued. Theo wrenched his nose in disgust. If Kamon wanted him to attack this guy, he was starting to think he didn't have a problem with it after all.

"Got you, didn't I?" The old man chuckled heartily. "Don't worry, these are brand new!"

"Heh," Kamon gave the old man a tired grin now. "That's funny. Really. Funny. Are we done now? Please say we're done."

"The instructions read…"

"Oh sweet Arceus, not more instructions."

"Touch the Sprint Button on the Touch Screen to sprint."

"What…" Kamon didn't even appear sure what to say. "What does that even mean!? What's a Touch Screen!?"

The old man blinked. "I'm not sure."

"Fantastic," Kamon snarled and Theo groaned. The old man didn't look like he was done.

"It also says 'Hold the B Button down to sprint'." The old man grinned, showing false teeth.

"Oh sweet Arceus…" Kamon turned to Theo. "Alright, I think this guy might have Alzheimer's or something, just play along. He seems really out there, so now I feel bad for him."

But the old man seemed to have been finished talking. He pushed the shoes happily into Kamon's hands, and walked into his house without so much as a goodbye. He latched the door behind him.

"Well that was pointless," Kamon said. "I'd sort of hoped to explore the first city I visit alone, but that works too, I guess." He examined the shoes. "Huh, these are even the right size. I… I'm not sure I want to know how he knew my shoe size."

Theo sniffed. He wasn't sure he wanted to know either.

"Well I guess we're done here," Kamon said. "There doesn't seem to be much to Cherrygrove City. Honestly, I'm not sure why it exists at all. We can keep north on Route 30 until we find Mr. Pokémon's house."

Theo barked in agreement. Then he snuggled up against his trainer's leg.

Kamon managed a faint smile. "I guess you're right. It could be worse."

The two of them began to head north, to the Cherrygrove City exit.

"He might have wanted to show me how to catch Pokémon or something." Kamon laughed. "If he tried that, I think I'd lose my mind!"


	7. Chapter 7: Kamon

"You don't sell Pokéballs?" Kamon repeated.

"No sir," the clerk repeated. He was in his late teens, and acne covered his face. "Not one."

"Okay." Kamon tried to remain calm. "Can I ask _why_ you don't sell Pokéballs?"

"Not enough demand for them," said the clerk.

"They're the single most popular item in the world," Kamon replied. "Every trainer in the universe needs them."

"Not trainers in Cherrygrove," said the clerk.

"But every trainer who begins their journey comes through here!" Kamon protested. "And they don't have a Pokémon Mart in New Bark Town! So you could be making a fortune off all these brand new trainers!"

"We don't sell Pokéballs," the clerk repeated.

"You said that already," Kamon grumbled. "This is even worse than the tutorial. Come on Theo, let's get out of this city. If you can even call it that, there's like five buildings here."

Kamon left Cherrygrove City with Theo walking faithfully behind him. The Cyndaquil was tougher than he'd expected; it had already reached level 8. They still hadn't made any significant progress yet though, and that was starting to annoy him.

"Hey!" A thin, wavering voice called out to him. "Wait!"

"Oh no," thought Kamon. "Not you. _Not now!"_

But the old man from the tour was faster than he looked, and he caught Kamon less than twenty feet from the Cherrygrove City exit.

"I just want to catch some Pokémon!" Kamon cried. "Why does everyone have to make it so difficult for me!?"

The old man ignored him. "…Hffp…Hffp… I made it…" he said. "I forgot about one thing. This is another token from me! Take it."

"Please…" Kamon sighed. "Please just leave me alone. I don't want any shoes, or shoe jokes, or sea jokes, or whatever else you have to say." But the old man snagged Kamon's Pokégear and produced a small card. "Map Card" was written in small letters on the card.

With a grin, the old man loaded the Map Card into Kamon's Pokégear. Then he looked up at Kamon.

"Select the Pokégear on the Touch Screen and then select the Town Map icon."

"Oh sweet Arceus," Kamon sighed. "Please stop mentioning that Touch Screen. It's really starting to creep me out."

"You'll see the map of the region you're currently in!" the man continued. "The Pokégear becomes more useful as you add Cards."

"Thank. You." Kamon snarled. "Now please go." Kamon thought that if random strangers didn't stop trying to offer pointless help to him very soon, he might see if Theo was willing to attack humans yet.

"I wish you luck on your journey!" The old man waved as he walked away.

"That's it," Kamon sighed. "Come on Theo. We're headed to find Mr. Pokémon and nothing else is going to get in our way!"

Five seconds onto Route 30, a Pidgey swooped down from the sky.

"OH COME ON!" cried Kamon. Theo jumped in front of him, ready for battle.

"Let's get this over with," Kamon sighed. "I guess extra experience isn't so bad. Theo, use Leer!" Theo gave Pidgey an angry gaze. Pidgey retaliated with a swift Tackle attack.

Theo shrugged the attack off. "Nice!" Kamon cried. "Now use your Tackle!"

Theo and the Pidgey met each other in the field with two Tackles. Theo recovered, but Pidgey looked dazed.

"Now's your chance!" Kamon cried. Theo delivered one final Tackle and the Pidgey fell to the ground. It slowly came to, and scampered away.

Kamon smiled as he and Theo continued on the path. These little distractions were annoying, but they paid off. He checked the Pokégear once more and saw Theo had already reached level 9. He hadn't liked Theo much at first, but the Cyndaquil was growing on him a little. Not that he'd ever admit it, of course.

They walked together in silence for a while, until Theo spoke up.

"Quil!" Theo squeaked. "Quil! Quil!"

Kamon saw what the Cyndaquil was pointing to at once. A small house, not more than a few rooms, was nestled off to the side of the road.

"I think this is it!" Kamon smiled. "It took long enough, but it was worth it. We've finally reached Mr. Pokémon's house, and we're one step closer to getting some Pokéballs!"

He and Theo walked to the house and knocked.

"Come in!" said a voice.

"Mr. Pokémon," Kamon thought. "Finally!"

He opened the door and saw a thin man sitting at a table.

"Hello!" said the man. "People usually come to my house looking for Mr. Pokémon's house!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" cried Kamon. "I've been searching for this guy forever!"

"You did mean to visit my house, right?" said the man.

"Uhhh.. sure. Whatever."

"How kind of you! Do you… have any Apricorns?"

Kamon had seen some Apricorns back on Route 29, but he hadn't had the chance to pick them. He shook his head.

"Apricorn trees bear fruit once a day." The man smiled. "I have one of those trees, too!"

Kamon decided at this point it was best to just smile and nod until the stranger was done talking. Sometimes when he did that, people would give him random supplies. The supplies were mostly useless, but the free stuff was nice.

"Apricorns are really something." The man smiled. "You can make Pokéballs and other things. They are quite useful."

Kamon and Theo were both silent.

"I have a feeling this is meant to be. I'm so happy that I'll give you this! It's an Apricorn Box!" He handed Kamon the small, green box. "With that Apricorn Box, you can carry so many Apricorns. You'll be a decent Apricorn collector!"

"Wait," Kamon began. "You have a green Apricorn outside. So I can go pick it, and have it made into a Pokéball? I can finally catch Pokémon?"

"Oh my, no!" The man chuckled. "You need to take the Apricorns to Kurt in Azalea Town for that. To get there, you need to travel…"

Kamon walked out the door without saying a word. The Pokémon Egg would hatch before he arrived; he was certain of it.

A short while later, Kamon and Theo were climbing a steep hill. Kamon had no idea why Mr. Pokémon would choose to live this far in the wilderness. He wondered briefly if Mr. Pokémon was insane and if so, why Elm would send a ten year old to meet a crazy person.

As Kamon walked along wondering this, the hill grew steeper. Soon it was all but impossible to climb, save for a thin path that had been leveled off.

"I guess this is our route." Kamon beckoned to his Cyndaquil and Theo followed.

They climbed farther, and the path grew steeper and narrower. More than once Kamon nearly slipped, and nearly fell. Up ahead and around a corner, Kamon could hear the sounds of Pokémon.

"Raaattt!"

"Pi-piii!"

Kamon rounded the corner and saw two trainers fighting along the narrow ledge. One had a Rattata, and the other a Pidgey. The two small Pokémon were fighting fiercely, but there wasn't much space to cross.

"Go Rattata!" said one of the trainers. "Tackle!"

Rattata delivered a weak Tackle, and the Pidgey shrugged it off.

"Excuse me," said Kamon. "Can I get by here?"

"What?" the trainer replied. "This is a big battle! Leave me alone!"

"How big can it be?" Kamon said. "You're fighting a Pidgey, and you're losing. Besides, you don't have to stop your battle. Just move it ten feet north; the path widens right ahead of you.

"No!" said the trainer. "I'm not moving!"

Kamon sighed. "You're just trying to annoy me now, aren't you? By blocking the path on purpose?"

"Yes!" said the trainer.

Kamon considered sending Theo in to attack the trainer and move him by force, but figured the Cyndaquil wouldn't go for it. He doubled back down the cliff, and tried another path. Before long he had entered a thin wooded area.

From there Kamon continued hiking north. Several hours later, he and Theo were quite lost.

"This is just great," Kamon muttered. "We'll never find Mr. Pokémon's house now. I don't even know if we're on Route 30 anymore! We might not even be in Johto anymore!"

"Quil! Quil!" Kamon looked down and saw Theo scratching himself. He had squatted in a small pile of leaves.

"What is that… is that poison ivy!? Seriously!?"

Theo squeaked in discomfort.

"HOW DOES JOHTO HAVE POISON IVY!?" Kamon cried. "HOW!?" Then he saw something that gave him pause.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kamon saw some smoke. At first he thought it was a bit of smoke wafting from the flames on Theo's back. But then he looked again and saw a small house in the distance.

Scarcely daring to hope, Kamon raced towards the house.

"Is this it?" Kamon whispered. He checked the mailbox outside the house.

They had finally found Mr. Pokémon's house.


	8. Chapter 8: Totodile

Totodile thought: "That evil, worthless piece of Snorlax dung!"

He was about to get a trainer! He was about to get a partner! The trainer had chosen him; he'd said to Professor Elm that Totodile was the one he wanted. Totodile's heart had been soaring! But then that stupid Cyndaquil had to get jealous, and he knocked Totodile's Pokéball right onto the ground! And then when they couldn't find him, the kid had picked Cyndaquil instead!

Totodile had sat there all night, his ball wedged awkwardly between the machine and the wall. He'd struggled for hours, and he was only now starting to break free.

Totodile gave his ball one final great shove and it rolled free. He began to kick his feet furiously, and rolled the ball out into the open.

"I did it!" he cried up at Chikorita. Chikorita had tried to get Elm's attention when he let her out of her Pokéball for dinner, but she hadn't been able to reach behind the machine. "I'm finally out!" Totodile shouted.

"That's great!" Chikorita replied from up by the Pokéball machine. "I… gosh, I still can't believe Cyndaquil did that…"

"It's Theo," Totodile said grimly. "He has a trainer now, and that trainer named him Theo. But I'm going to fix that." Totodile rolled his ball towards Professor Elm's desk. The professor was pretending to do important research, but he was really just checking his email again.

Totodile rolled his ball along the floor as fast as he could, dodging candy wrappers and dust bunnies. He picked up speed and rolled his Pokéball straight into Professor Elm's shoe.

"Hm?" Professor Elm looked up lazily. "What was that?"

He looked down at the floor. "Totodile! There you are! Where'd you run off to?"

"Toto! Toto! Toto!" cried Totodile.

"Hmmm," said the professor. "I'm not sure I know what you want. Are you hungry? You must be hungry, having been in your Pokéball all night.

Totodile was hungry, but that wasn't what he'd been trying to tell Elm. Still, he couldn't complain when Professor Elm released him from his Pokéball and poured him a large dish of Pokémon food.

As Totodile gobbled up the food, Professor Elm continued to speak.

"Kamon started on his journey two days ago… he's probably already reached Cherrygrove City by now. Should I tell him to come back now that we found you?"

Totodile stopped eating. "Yes!" he thought. "Yes you should!"

"Still, he didn't seem too disappointed to get that Cyndaquil." Elm began to pace through the lab. "On the one hand, I'd hate to call him back here and put him out of his way. On the other hand, I want him to have his first choice as a starter. Hmmm… this is tricky."

"You should call him!" Totodile thought furiously. "Don't let that stinking Cyndaquil get away with this!"

"Maybe I should give you to Kamon when he comes back from visiting Mr. Pokémon?" Elm scratched his head. "He might be attached to the Cyndaquil by then, though. Plus he gave it a nickname, and those are always hard to remove."

"It doesn't matter!" Totodile thought. "I don't care how long it's been! You have to give me back to him!"

"Maybe I could-" Professor Elm paused. A loud banging noise interrupted him. It sounded like it was coming from outside the lab.

"Kevin?" Professor Elm asked. "Is that you? Are you back with my lunch?"

The banging grew louder.

"Ah," the Professor said. "I know what this is. Those Sentrets are back, and they're knocking over my garbage cans again! Alright Totodile, time to go back in your Pokéball. I have to go deal with the Sentrets."

"Wait!" Totodile thought. "What are you going to do about me and my trainer!?"

Professor Elm clicked his Pokéball and Totodile was recalled in a stream of red light. The professor set Totodile back on the machine, picked up a broom and charged outside.

"Okay Sentrets!" Professor Elm cried. "I'll teach you not to knock over my garbage cans! And you'd better not try to bite me this time!" He charged outside.

"Welcome back," Chikorita said shyly. She gave Totodile a sad smile. "I'm glad you're alright. Your… um… your Pokéball has dust spots on it."

Totodile ignored her. Now that he was back on the machine, he had a better view of the window. The red haired kid was back again. He was still staring through the window.

"Has he been there all night?" Totodile asked. He would have to be one determined trainer to wait all night to get a Pokémon. But if that was true, why hadn't he come inside to just ask Professor Elm for one? He was that determined… but he was still too shy to speak to the professor?

"No, he only showed up again a few minutes ago," Chikorita said. "Actually, it was right after Professor Elm heard those Sentrets going through his garbage."

Much as Totodile hated to admit it, Cyndaquil might have been right about that trainer. There was something about him that Totodile didn't like.

"Was he there all day?" Totodile asked. "After I was knocked onto the ground, I mean. Did you see him there the rest of the day?"

"Yes," Chikorita began. "But-"

She was interrupted by a loud clacking noise. The kid outside was rattling the lab windows.

"Is he trying to open the windows?" Chikorita asked. "Why would he do that?"

"Quiet," said Totodile. "Something's not right here. Why isn't Professor Elm back yet?"

The red haired kid disappeared for a moment. Totodile was about to sight in relief, but within moments the kid was back. He had a large rock clutched in his hand.

With a great heave, the kid threw the rock against the lab window. The window shattered with a loud crash and shards of glass fell to the floor.

"What…?" Chikorita seemed stunned. "What is he…?"

The kid moved faster than Totodile would have thought. He leapt through the hole in the window and bolted towards the Pokéball machine.

The door went flying open and Professor Elm stormed in.

"What's going on here!?" he cried. "Who are you!? You'll be paying for that window!" The professor tried to sound intimidating, but his voice cracked and that sort of ruined the effect.

"You'd better get out of here!" Professor Elm ran towards the intruder, his lab coat flying in the air. He grabbed a Pokéball from his belt.

The intruder grabbed Chikorita's Pokéball and threw it at Professor Elm's feet. The ball rolled towards the professor and he tripped on it, falling to the ground. Chikorita gave a small squeak of terror.

"There you are," the red haired stranger smirked. He reached for Totodile's Pokéball.

Totodile screamed.


	9. Chapter 9: Theo

Theo had forgotten how great it was to finally get out of the woods. As he stepped into the small house with his owner beside him, Theo felt like he was at home again. Professor Elm had raised him in the lab, and the complex paths of Johto still took some getting used to. Theo was relieved to be inside again.

"Hello?" said Kamon. "There was a pink Apricorn outside on your tree. I hope you don't mind that I picked it."

Two older men sat at a table. One wore a brown suit and a hat. Theo recognized him as Mr. Pokémon from his frequent visits to the lab. The other man wore a lab coat similar to Professor Elm. Theo had seen this man come by the lab once or twice, and he recognized him as Professor Oak.

Mr. Pokémon looked up when he heard Kamon's voice. He stood up from the table and beamed. "You must be Kamon!"

Kamon nodded.

"It was I who sent an email to Professor Elm earlier." Mr. Pokémon adjusted his hat as he lead Kamon inside. If he noticed Theo from the lab, he didn't acknowledge it. He walked over to a glass case, where he retrieved a small Pokémon egg. All the while, Professor Oak didn't take his eyes off Kamon. Holding the egg with care, Mr. Pokémon returned to Kamon.

"This is what I wanted Professor Elm to examine." Mr. Pokémon handed Kamon the egg. Kamon placed it carefully in his backpack.

"A friend of mine from Ecruteak gave it to me," Mr. Pokémon explained. "I bet you can't find this kind of Egg in Johto."

Theo rolled his eyes at this. Mr. Pokémon had said the same thing about the last egg that he'd found, when he brought it to Professor Elm to study. Professor Elm had told Mr. Pokémon quite kindly that you could indeed find the egg in Johto. More specifically, you could find it at your local supermarket.

"I thought Professor Elm might be able to tell what this is." Mr. Pokémon grinned. "'He's the best when it comes to the research of Pokémon evolution.' That's a quote from the famous Professor Oak."

Theo saw Professor Oak smile a little at that. Theo couldn't help smiling a little himself. Mr. Pokémon may be a little out there, but at least he knew enough to respect Pokémon researchers.

"You are returning to Professor Elm?" Mr. Pokémon asked.

"Sure am," Kamon said. "I have to show him this egg."

"Here. Your Pokémon should have some rest."

Theo didn't need rest. It was 8:30 in the morning, and he was near full health besides.

"Thanks," Kamon said. "But my Pokémon is doing fine. He doesn't really need-"

"I SAID HE SHOULD HAVE SOME REST! THAT WAS NOT A REQUEST!"

"Okay, okay!" Kamon cried. "We'll take a rest!"

"Oh, good!" Mr. Pokémon clapped his hands together. "While your Cyndaquil rests, I can tell you the story of how Rhydon was the first Pokémon in the world!"

"I'm not sure that's true…" Kamon began. Theo didn't hear the rest. He shut his eyes and went to sleep. He figured it would be best for everyone if he did.

When Theo opened his eyes, Mr. Pokémon and Kamon were sitting at the kitchen table with Professor Oak. Mr. Pokémon was regaling everyone with the tales of seven mysterious islands in the Kanto region.

"I just don't buy it," Kamon said. "If these islands exist, shouldn't we be able to visit them somehow? Like by boat or something?"

"Nonsense," Mr. Pokémon said. "Oh look, you're Cyndaquil's awake."

Kamon gave Theo an awkward hello.

"But that's a story for another day!" Mr. Pokémon smiled. "So listen, have I told any of you about this mysterious talking Meowth I've heard about?"

Professor Oak appeared to have heard enough. He got to his feet and cleared his throat.

"And with that…" Professor Oak said. "I'm Professor Oak, a Pokémon researcher! So you're Kamon!"

"Yeah," said Kamon. "I recognize you from your tutorial before I started my journey."

"Oh yes," Professor Oak said. "It's always embarrassing to be recognized in public."

"Why did your tutorial ask me for my name? And why did it ask for my _gender, _for that matter?"

Professor Oak laughed awkwardly. "Broadcast… uh… requirements. It's all very boring. You wouldn't be interested. Anyway, I was just visiting my friend Mr. Pokémon."

"You think we're friends?" Mr. Pokémon asked hopefully.

"No!" Professor Oak barked. "It was a formality! I was mainly here to use the bathroom, but you kept telling me more ridiculous stories. Anyway Kamon, I heard you were running an errand for Professor Elm, so I waited here."

Then Professor Oak took note of Theo. He stepped towards the Cyndaquil and smiled. Then he reached over and picked Theo up off the ground. "Oh! What's this? A rare Pokémon!"

Theo squeaked.

"I see!" Professor Oak said. "You must be helping Professor Elm's research! I think I understand why Professor Elm gave you that Pokémon. You will treat your Pokémon with love and care, it seems."

Theo didn't know about that. So far Kamon had treated him with aloofness and detachment. Theo didn't know if the kid was capable of expressing much emotion at all. For Theo's part, he was only with Kamon because he'd attacked the Pokémon Kamon had intended to choose. So the "close bonds" Professor Oak claimed to see weren't really there at all. Theo briefly wondered if the professor was going senile.

"…Ah!" Professor Oak exclaimed. "You seem to be dependable. How would you like to help me out?"

Kamon thought for a moment. "I don't have to be in one of your tutorials, do I? Those things are annoying, and really creepy."

"Haha! No, you don't have to be in a tutorial!" Professor Oak chuckled. He produced a small red computer. "See? This is the latest version of the Pokédex. It automatically records data on Pokémon you've seen or caught. It's a high-tech encyclopedia!"

"So it's like Google?" Kamon asked.

Professor Oak didn't appear to like his high-tech encyclopedia being compared to Google. "Anyways," he said through gritted teeth. "I'd like you to have it." He handed Kamon the Pokédex. Kamon shrugged and accepted it, placing it in his bag next to the egg.

"Go meet many kinds of Pokémon and complete that Pokédex!" Professor Oak cheered. Then he examined his watch. "But I've stayed too long. I have to get to Goldenrod for my usual radio show. You should tune in, Kamon. After all, I did give you a computer."

"I'll tune in," Kamon said. He didn't seem to want to give back the computer.

"Kamon, I have a feeling that this is not the last time we'll meet…" Professor Oak said.

"You're being creepy again," Kamon said. "Just like in your tutorials."

"I'm not creepy!" Professor Oak exclaimed. "Now let's exchange numbers just to be on the safe side."

Kamon sighed. "Are you even listening to yourself!?"

"You could exchange numbers with me instead!" Mr. Pokémon piped up.

Kamon thought this over for a moment, and handed his Pokégear to Professor Oak. Professor Oak entered his number into the Pokégear.

"Excellent!" Mr. Pokémon said. "Now I can tell everyone the mysterious tale of the Unova region!"

"No more of your stories!" Professor Oak growled. He walked out the door without another word.

"What about you?" Mr. Pokémon turned to Kamon. "Do you want to hear about Unova? They have these crazy things called seasons!"

"Well… gosh…" Kamon stammered. "I should really be getting this egg back to Professor Elm. No time like the present, so…"

He ran out the door, with Theo following close behind.

Theo and Kamon hadn't taken more than three steps beyond Mr. Pokémon's house when Kamon's Pokégear began to ring. For a moment Theo was worried that Mr. Pokémon had somehow gotten their number and wanted to share more stories. But then Kamon took out the Pokégear and showed Theo the name of the caller.

"It's Professor Elm," Kamon said. He looked over at Theo. "Is it strange that my next door neighbour called me before my mother did?"

Theo didn't know much about mothers; his own mother had been given to a trainer beginning his journey shortly after Theo was born. He squeaked in sympathy.

"I wonder what he wants." Kamon clicked the Pokégear.

Theo recognized Professor Elm's voice at once. "H-hello? Kamon?"

Theo hadn't heard the professor's voice sound that shaky since the time he was three hours late for dinner. He leaned closer to hear what the professor had to say.

"It's a disaster! Uh, um, it's just terrible!"

"Something's wrong," Theo thought. "Oh no, what if Professor Elm's in trouble? Or Chikorita? Or Totodile?"

Oh, sweet Arceus.

Totodile wouldn't even be in the lab if not for Theo. That meant that anything that happened to him was Theo's fault. The Cyndaquil listened closer, shaking slightly.

"What should I do? It… Oh, no…" There was a loud crashing noise. "Please get back here now!"

The phone went dead.

"Hello!?" Kamon cried. "Professor Elm, are you still there!?"

Nobody answered. Kamon looked down at Theo in confusion. "What's going on back there!?"

Theo didn't know. But it sounded like something terrible. And if something was happening to Totodile or Chikorita, it would be his fault.

"Quil!" he squeaked. "Quil! Quil!"

Kamon nodded. For once, it appeared that Theo's trainer had understood him.

"You're right. We'd better get back to New Bark Town."

With that, they took off.


	10. Chapter 10: Kamon

"Out of my way, you stupid piece of Snorlax dung," Kamon snarled.

When he tried to run past, the Hoothoot darted in front of him. It perched on the ground on its single leg, and looked at him quizzically.

"This thing isn't going anywhere," Kamon said. "If it wants to get in my way, that's just fine." He turned to his Cyndaquil. "Theo, use Tackle!"

Theo darted out towards the Hoothoot. With a loud cry, he tackled the Hoothoot and knocked it back. Hoothoot dove into the air, and then responded with its own Tackle.

Without delay, Kamon ordered another Tackle. Cyndaquil charged the Hoothoot, but the bird flew into the air and evaded. The Hoothoot then responded with another Tackle of its own. Kamon wished it would do something a little more original.

"We don't have time for this," Kamon muttered. Based on Professor Elm's call, something seriously wrong had happened in New Bark Town. The professor had hung up before Kamon could learn anything else, and Kamon was now racing along Route 30, returning home as fast as he could.

The Hoothoot didn't seem to care about any of that though, and refused to move out of the way.

"Let's try a Leer!" Kamon cried. Theo glared at the Hoothoot and the bird was shaken. For a moment Kamon thought they could flee, but then Hoothoot delivered another Tackle.

"One more Tackle!" Kamon shouted. "And make this one count!" Theo did his job – the Tackle knocked Hoothoot straight into a tree. The owl Pokémon cried out feebly, and fainted.

"Finally," Kamon cried. "Now we can-" He was interrupted when his new Pokédex beeped loudly. Confused, Kamon opened it.

THEOGONY GREW TO LEVEL 10! THEOGONY LEARNED EMBER!

Kamon smiled. His fire type finally knew some fire moves. It had certainly taken long enough. It almost made all these senseless distractions worth it. It felt like wild Pokémon were jumping out at him every ten seconds, and he didn't have time to deal with them now.

"Come on, let's go." Kamon took off running, with Theo following behind him. Kamon privately thanked the old man from Cherrygrove City. These shoes were more useful than he would've thought, and they would help him reach New Bark Town faster.

Though he hated to admit it, Kamon was worried about what was going on in New Bark Town. His mother was there, as well as Professor Elm, Lyra and all his neighbours. If there was some kind of national disaster, he would've heard about it from Mr. Pokémon and Professor Oak. What if Team Rocket, or some other group like them, had returned and attacked New Bark Town? Professor Elm did keep some rare Pokémon on hand…

Kamon stopped running. All this panicking wasn't doing him any good. It would be better to take a moment to get all the facts before he rushed into New Bark Town unprepared.

Kamon fished around in his bag for his Pokégear. He pushed past the Pokémon egg that Mr. Pokémon had given him, and past Professor Oak's Pokédex. He pulled out the Pokégear and dialed Professor Elm's number.

After a few rings, the professor picked up. "H-hello?" he said shakily.

"Professor Elm, it's Kamon. What exactly is going on back there?"

"Oh, Kamon…" Professor Elm sounded twenty years older. "I just stepped away for a second… How could…?"

"How could what?" Kamon asked. "Professor, you need to tell me what's going on!"

"I don't… I don't understand…" Professor Elm said. It sounded like he was in shock.

"Listen to me, professor," Kamon said. "If you need my help, you have to tell me what-"

There was a faint click. The professor had hung up.

Now Kamon was getting worried. Professor Elm's panic was catching, and it was getting dark out. He'd have to stop to make camp soon, but he wanted to reach New Bark Town as soon as possible.

Kamon whistled and Theo scurried up to him.

"I can run faster than you," Kamon said. "So you'll have to get back in your Pokéball for this next part."

Theo gave a squeak that indicated that he didn't mind a break from all the running. Kamon returned Theo to his Pokéball. Then he took off running again. The Pokémon egg rattled in his backpack and it grew darker by the minute.

Soon Kamon had passed through the forest, and approached a large clearing. He kept running south, through the clearing. Suddenly the landscape changed up ahead, and he came to a stop.

A cliff loomed below him. It wasn't a steep cliff – probably not much taller than Kamon. It extended along the path, which Kamon saw continued far to the east. The cliff grew smaller on the east side, and the path continued around it.

"That detour might add another hour to the trip," Kamon said to himself. He stared down at the cliff. "I wonder if I could jump this?"

Some Pokémon trainers jumped small cliffs like this all the time. This one looked pretty steep though, and there was nobody around for miles if he hurt himself. He wondered if he should release Theo from its Pokéball, to see what the Cyndaquil thought. He immediately shook the idea off. What advice could a Pokémon possibly offer him?

"I can do this," Kamon said as he stared at the ledge. "It's not that steep, and it'll save me walking through more of the tall grass. Besides, Professor Elm needs me."

Kamon took a few deep breaths to ready himself. Then he took ten paces back, and turned to face the cliff.

"Here we go," he said. Feeling more nervous than he would've liked, Kamon ran towards the cliff. As he jumped off it, he gave a wordless gasp of surprise. Had this been such a good idea after all?

It hadn't. Kamon crashed to the ground with a loud cry. He landed on his back and the wind was knocked out of him.

"Ow," Kamon said. How had those other trainers made it look so easy? His bag was digging into his spine, and he twisted over to his side. As he moved, something in the bag made a soft crunch.

"Oh no," Kamon thought to himself. He quickly sat up and opened his bag. Had he broken something in his fall? What if his Pokégear was broken – he'd only just got it back from the repair shop. Or worse, what if it was the Pokédex? They didn't just hand those out anywhere!

Cursing himself for taking the dangerous shortcut, Kamon opened his bag. As he reached inside, he felt a sticky, syrupy liquid coat his hands. It felt like he was petting a Grimer.

Kamon had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He reached into the bag and pulled out a piece of eggshell.

He'd broken the Pokémon egg.


	11. Chapter 11: Rattata

Rattata crouched in the bushes, nursing his wounds.

"Stupid Cyndaquil," he thought. "Stupid high attack stat. Stupid trainer with his stupid potions and his stupid rare candies. Why can't I have a rare candy!?"

Rattata stood up and walked out into the field. He surveyed Route 29. There weren't any trainers nearby today. That was just fine – he didn't want to see them anyways.

"I wanted to be that kid's Pokémon," he muttered. "But he looked at me like I was such an inconvenience. So of course I'd bite his leg! And then his stupid Cyndaquil nearly knocked my head off. I barely hurt that trainer – what was the Cyndaquil so bothered about!? If I was that kid's trainer, I'd have thought it was funny!"

Rattata snorted. It must be that stupid 'bond' that trainers and Pokémon had. Well Rattata didn't care about that dumb bond. He'd seen dozens of trainers walk down Route 29 with their fancy Chikoritas and Cyndaquils. They'd catch a Pidgey for their first Pokémon, or maybe a Sentret. But whenever he ran out to meet them, they always just looked at him like he was experience fodder.

He was level 2, and he wasn't likely to level up anytime soon. He was smaller than most other Rattata, and he tried to make up for it by being meaner. But that rarely worked in the long run; the other Pokémon were more than happy to knock him out as soon as they were sick of his attitude. And trainers never wanted to catch a level 2 Rattata anyway. Sentret learned all kinds of HMs, and Pidgey and Hoothoot were flying types. What did he have to offer?

Rattata heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He heard what sounded like a human voice. Was another trainer out here? If so, why was walking through the bushes instead of taking the public path? Was he searching for wild Pokémon? That seemed strange… if you just walked along the public path, wild Pokémon would jump out eventually.

Rattata's whiskers twitched. Maybe this was a special kind of trainer – one who trained his Pokémon differently. Maybe he'd have room on his team for a Rattata that nobody else wanted. Rattata ran towards the rustling bushes. "Rat!" he cried. "Rat-atta!"

A red haired trainer stepped out into the clearing. He was dressed in black and had a casual smirk. A single Pokéball was attached to his belt.

"Rat!" Rattata cried to get the trainer to notice him. "Rat- Rattata!"

The trainer looked down at Rattata with only the faintest interest. "Huh," he said. "This one's barely at half health. That's strange."

"That's right!" Rattata cried. "That'll make me easier to catch! I promise I won't even resist!" He wagged his tail and rolled over on his belly in an act of submission. "So just take out your Pokéball and…"

"Totodile, Scratch!" the trainer shouted.

Before Rattata could blink, the Totodile was running at him. He tried to duck out of the way, but the attack knocked him off his feet. Rattata cried out loudly as he fell to the ground. He struggled to get to his feet.

"No," he whimpered. "I don't want to battle! I just want to be your Pokémon. Hey you, Totodile, you can understand me. Make your trainer understand…"

Totodile looked at his trainer like he had no intentions of crossing him whatsoever. Then he looked back at Rattata apologetically. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Why isn't it attacking?" Now the red haired trainer looked confused. Then he shrugged. "Whatever works for it. Totodile, hit it with another Scratch!"

"Toto-toto!" Totodile ran at Rattata again. His claws sparkled in the morning sunlight.

The attack hit Rattata head on, and he fell to the ground winded. He flipped over onto his side, struggling to catch his breath. "Rat…" he moaned. "Rat… Ratt…"

The red haired trainer laughed. "That was pathetic! How did this thing survive alone in the wild!?" He laughed as he recalled Totodile. Then he stood over Rattata and surveyed the damage.

"You're completely useless," the trainer said. "No wonder nobody wants to catch Rattata. There's no point to you, even when you evolve. You're good as bait for Persians but not much else."

A single tear fell from Rattata's eye.

The red haired trainer laughed again. Then he stopped laughing, and looked around, as though he was afraid of being overheard. He gave Rattata another smirk, and walked back into the bushes.

Rattata lay on the ground in a haze. He lay there for hours as he slowly regained his strength. When he finally stood up again, his fangs were bared and he was seeing red.

"I could've beat that trainer," Rattata thought to himself. "If it weren't for the kid before him with the Cyndaquil, I could at least have fought. I wouldn't have lost so easily… I wouldn't have…"

The red haired trainer's words echoed through Rattata's head.

"You're good as bait for Persians, but not much else."

Rattata began to growl. He was furious. Anyone walking by might have thought he was quite rabid.

"I'll show you," Rattata thought. "I'll get you for this. I'll track down you and your stupid Totodile, and then I'll…"

Rattata paused. He wasn't actually sure that he could take the Totodile trainer again. That trainer looked like a nasty piece of work, and he was worried about what the trainer might do if Rattata ambushed him. He'd heard some trainers actually ate their Pokémon… would this guy and his Totodile do that? Rattata didn't know, but he thought it might be best to get revenge on the safer option first.

"I'll get that Cyndaquil trainer. He's the one who weakened me so I couldn't stand up to the Totodile. Then you're next, you red-haired pain in the…"

Rattata crawled into the bushes and began to wait. He didn't know about the red-haired trainer, but the Cyndaquil trainer had the scent of New Bark Town on him. If he lived there, he'd have to come home along this path eventually. And when he did, Rattata would be waiting for him.

"I'll get you for this," Rattata snarled, hiding in the bushes. "I'll show you. I'll show you all."


	12. Chapter 12: Kamon

"This is not working at all," said Kamon.

He and Theo had spent the better part of an hour trying to piece the Pokémon egg back together. They yolk inside was a lost cause, but Kamon figured if they pieced the egg shell together just right, Professor Elm might not notice the cracks. The professor's eyesight wasn't the best after all, and Kamon would be sure to set the egg in a very dark corner. Then Professor Elm would have an egg that… well… would never hatch.

It wasn't the perfect plan, but it was the best Kamon could come up with on short notice.

"Quil?" Theo asked quizzically.

"You're right," Kamon said. "This isn't going to work. I should have listened to you from the start."

The egg had shattered into at least forty pieces, and some were barely bigger than Kamon's fingernail. A few pieces had gotten lodged in the Pokégear when the egg broke, and Kamon had to fish these pieces out first. A few other pieces had been stuck to the bag. And a few other pieces had seemed to just vanish… Kamon had no idea where they might be.

At first Kamon thought this would be like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. He was quickly learning it was much harder than that, and it only grew harder when Theo sneezed and the pieces Kamon had gathered went flying into a bush.

"Nice going!" Kamon said, brushing egg shells out of his hair.

"Quil!" Theo squeaked indignantly, which probably meant something along the lines of: "I'm not the one who decided jumping off the cliff was a reasonable, rational short cut."

"Okay, you're right," Kamon sighed. "This whole thing's my fault."

"Quil," Theo agreed.

Kamon sighed. It didn't matter – there was no way they could pass the egg shards off as a working, functional Pokémon egg. The whole idea was ridiculous.

"There has to be another way," Kamon said. "And we have to do it fast… Professor Elm needs us in New Bark Town. But I'm not about to tell him I broke his Pokémon egg after he just gave me a rare Pokémon."

"Cynda?" Theo asked.

"Yeah, I mean you." Kamon patted Theo's head awkwardly. "Now there has to be something we can do." He looked at Theo for ideas. In the dimming sunlight, Theo's tiny body almost looked like a Pokémon egg.

"That's it!" Kamon clapped his hands together. "Theo, you're a genius!"

"Quil?" Theo asked.

"Okay, you're probably not a genius," Kamon admitted. "You sure gave me a great idea though. We know Professor Elm's expecting a Pokémon egg, right?"

Theo nodded.

"But we know he doesn't really care about it, and he only asked us to get the egg to humour Mr. Pokémon, right?"

Theo nodded again.

"So get this," Kamon smiled. "It doesn't matter what kind of Pokémon egg we give him!"

Now Theo looked confused.

"It's simple!" Kamon said. "We don't know what kind of Pokémon that egg would have been. Neither did Mr. Pokémon, and neither will Professor Elm! We can give him a Dodrio egg or a Heracross egg and it won't matter. He's just expecting an egg – he doesn't care what kind it is!"

"Quil!" Now Theo looked like he understood. The Cyndaquil clapped his tiny paws together, to show that he liked the idea.

"So come on," Kamon said. "We have to go find a Pokémon egg!"

That proved easier said than done. Kamon and Theo had no trouble finding Pokémon on Route 30, but finding Pokémon eggs was another matter.

The sunlight was fading fast, and Kamon and Theo hadn't had any luck. Kamon thought for a moment, and then turned to his partner.

"Okay Theo, this isn't working. I have another idea, though. This about it… only female Pokémon lay eggs right?"

"Quil!" Theo agreed happily.

"And at least half the Pokémon we fight are female. And after we fight them, they get knocked out and wander away."

"Quil!" Theo nodded his tiny head.

"So all we have to do is follow a female Pokémon back to its den after we defeat it. We might find an egg, and then we can bring it back to the professor. So come on, Theo! Let's go beat up a girl!"

"Quil?" Theo grimaced at this.

"Okay, that didn't come out quite right. You know what I meant, though. Let's go!" Kamon clapped his hands together and walked off into the tall grass. His faithful Cyndaquil followed behind him.

As Kamon walked through the tall grass, he wondered if he was really doing the moral thing here. He'd basically killed an unborn Pokémon through his failed attempt at cliff jumping, and now he was looking for a Pokémon mother to beat her unconscious, follow her home, and steal one of her unborn children.

"Is this really how researchers get Pokémon eggs?" Kamon wondered. Had Mr. Pokémon gotten his first egg this way? Something about it felt more than a little wrong.

"Piii!" A Pidgey flew down from a tree with a loud cry. It circled around Kamon and glared at him menacingly. Kamon took out his Pokédex (which still smelled faintly of egg yolk) and scanned the Pidgey.

"Great!" Kamon cried. "It's a female Pokémon! Now we can… well, I'm not sure I like the whole 'beat her up, stalk her, and steal her egg' plan. It seems sort of dark when you really think about it. But… she's a wild Pokémon, so attacking her is fine!"

"Cynda?" Theo asked.

"We have to!" Kamon reasoned. "If we don't attack Pokémon of both genders, that's gender discrimination or… you know, or something."

Fortunately, Theo didn't seem to notice Kamon's shaky reasoning. He ran towards the Pidgey with a loud cry.

"Okay Theo," Kamon announced. "Use Ember!"

An orb of fire appeared in Theo's mouth, and then exploded towards the Pidgey in bursts of flame. The Pidgey was struck by the flames, and fell back towards the tree. It tried to regain its balance and charge Theo with a Tackle, but the Cyndaquil jumped out of the way.

Kamon noticed Theo's fire moves were really getting stronger. He thought Professor Elm would like what he saw.

"Use another Ember!" Kamon shouted. Theo delivered another blast of flames, and the Pidgey fell to the ground in defeat. Theo squeaked in triumph.

"Nice job," Kamon said. Normally he didn't like complimenting his Pokémon… it just felt so awkward… but you couldn't deny that Theo _had_ done a good job there. He smiled at Theo. Smiles had never come easily to Kamon.

"Quil?" Theo asked.

"You're wondering what we do now?" Kamon asked. The Cyndaquil nodded. "Well, I was thinking we might make an exchange with the Pidgey. I don't want to steal one of her eggs… that would be wrong. But maybe we could give her some berries, or potions in exchange for one. For a wild Pokémon, a potion would be like a gourmet meal. It would help her keep her other eggs safe. And you could reassure her that the egg would go to a good home."

"Quil!" Theo seemed to agree with the idea. Kamon didn't know why exactly (even his own emotions were often a mystery to him) but he was glad that Theo liked the idea.

"Okay then," Kamon stared at the unconscious Pidgey. "We just have to wait for her to wake up. Then you can explain our offer to her, using that weird universal language you Pokémon have."

"Cynda!" Theo cried, which probably meant: "Our language isn't weird!"

Kamon and Theo stared at the Pidgey, lying limp in the grass on Route 30. As the last traces of sunlight faded through the trees, the Pidgey continued to lie still.

"Huh," Kamon said, breaking the silence. "How much longer after you faint them do wild Pokémon shake it off? It's not usually this long, is it?"

Theo shrugged. Kamon figured it only made sense that Theo didn't know the answer… the Cyndaquil had been a lab Pokémon, after all.

After another twenty minutes, Kamon began to get worried. "Did we his this thing too hard? Oh man, now I feel kind of bad. What if it's really hurt?"

Theo paced around in the grass. He looked worried too.

Kamon knelt over and stuck his hand towards the Pidgey's beak. He leaned his ear closer to its chest, to check for irregular breathing.

The Pidgey snored loudly.

Kamon stood up. "It's asleep! The stupid thing fell asleep!" He turned towards his Cyndaquil. "Come on Theo, we're finding an egg somewhere else!"

The night grew darker as Kamon and Theo continued south along Route 30. The lights of Cherrygrove City sparkled in the distance, but Kamon wasn't ready to go there just yet. He wanted to find the Pokémon egg first… it was sort of a self-imposed challenge.

"Quil," Theo said doubtfully as he followed his owner through the woods. The ground was getting soft, and Kamon's jeans were slicked with mud. He pushed through the overgrowth, and branches whacked his face.

"Quil!" Theo said again.

"I know, we can barely see a thing," Kamon admitted. "But we can't stop now. We have to find an egg… I don't want to let Professor Elm down. After all, he gave you to me as a gift, and that… OH SWEET ARCEUS, ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!?"

Kamon had just stepped knee deep into a sinkhole. His entire pant leg was coated with murky brown mud. He grabbed blindly in the dark, grasped a tree branch, and pulled himself out.

"Fantastic," Kamon sighed. "If I didn't have a fire type with me, I'd probably have caught hypothermia by now." He peered through the thick mud ahead, and saw it emptied into a small lake.

"Well, I could take my fire type swimming for underwater Pokémon eggs at midnight," Kamon said sarcastically. "I'm sure that wouldn't kill either of us. Or let's see, maybe I could…"

As Kamon began to walk out of the mud, he tripped over a rock. He fell to the ground with a loud splat and thick brown mud sprayed everywhere. He could barely tell the colour of his jacket anymore. He'd tripped over something half-buried in the mud… a rock of some kind.

"Fantastic," Kamon sighed. "I think I sprained my ankle. Theo, come over here, see what this is. It better not be another Geodude."

The Cyndaquil gave off a small glow from the flames on his back. As Theo walked towards the object that Kamon had tripped over, it was illuminated by the fire Pokémon's flames.

Kamon gaped in shock. For the first time, his luck was turning around.

He reached into the mud, and picked up the Pokémon egg.


	13. Chapter 13: Theo

Theo walked out of the Cherrygrove City Pokémon Centre feeling refreshed and restored.

It was well past midnight, but Kamon hadn't wanted to spend the night in Cherrygrove City. Professor Elm still needed them, and they'd lost enough time searching for the Pokémon egg replacement. Kamon hadn't even taken the time to change his clothes – his jacket, jeans and face were still smeared with mud from walking through the lake, searching for the Pokémon egg. It was late at night, but Kamon didn't look tired at all.

Theo wasn't that tired either. His brief rest at the Pokémon Centre had left him refreshed, and he was ready for an all-night trip back to New Bark Town.

"Come on Theo," Kamon said. "If we hurry, we can be back in New Bark Town by morning."

Theo was all for hurrying. He scampered towards the Cherrygrove City exit behind his trainer.

Cherrygrove City wasn't that large, and this late at night it was mostly deserted. The streets were deserted, and the Pokémon Centre and the PokéMart were the only signs of life. Just beyond the Cherrygrove City exit, another trainer walked towards the city.

"Someone else is out late," Theo thought.

Kamon and Theo headed towards the Cherrygrove City exit, walking towards the oncoming trainer. As Theo looked ahead, he felt a small twinge in his stomach. Something about this didn't feel quite right. Was he just not used to walking through cities at night? That had to be it…

The trainer continued to walk towards them, and Theo felt his discomfort grow.

Kamon had stiffened as well; he noticed the trainer as well. Theo stepped behind Kamon's legs and the trainer continued to walk closer. He seemed to be trying to stick to the shadows, but as he passed under a street lamp, his face was illuminated for just a second.

That was all it took. Theo recognized him at once.

It was the red-haired trainer from the lab.

"Well that's not so bad," Theo thought. "Maybe Professor Elm finally gave that kid a Pokémon. Maybe he got Totodile or Chikorita. Hey, maybe he got both of them! That would make up for everything I did, because then everyone would have a trainer!"

But something about that just felt wrong. First, there was the fact that the red-haired trainer had been spying on Professor Oak. Second, there was the fact that he was out this late and concealing his face. Finally, there was the mysterious phone call from Professor Elm…

"I don't like this," Theo squeaked. Kamon patted him and stepped towards the trainer.

"Evening," Kamon said. He tried to sound nonchalant, but it didn't quite work out that way. "You're out late."

The trainer was silent for a moment. He surveyed Kamon, and then looked behind him at Theo. Theo didn't like the way the trainer stared at him; like he was a trophy in a cabinet.

"You got a Pokémon at the Lab." The trainer gestured at Theo.

"Sure," Kamon said. "This is Theo. Theo, this is… uh… sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"What a waste," the trainer said.

"Excuse me?" Kamon replied.

"That's a Pokémon that's too good for a wimp like you." The trainer sneered in the darkness. "Don't you get what I'm saying?"

"Hey… wait a second!" Kamon replied. "I recognize you! You were spying on Professor Elm in New Bark Town when I left! You shoved me, and then Theo wouldn't Tackle you when I ordered him to! Well, we'll see if he's up for it _now!"_

"Well, I too have a good Pokémon." The trainer's eyes narrowed and his grin changed, as though he was in on a private joke nobody else understood. "I'll show you what I mean!"

"Oh, you want to battle?" Kamon replied. "Even better, that way I can take your money. That'll teach you… uh… Guy Who Shoved Me That One Time. Theo, get in there!"

Theo darted in front of Kamon. If this trainer had gotten one of the remaining starters from the lab, or got his own Pokémon somewhere else, it didn't matter. Theo was still Kamon's Pokémon, and this was his first official trainer battle. That meant that he would fight to defend his trainer, no matter what…

The mysterious trainer threw a Pokéball. A creature emerged in a flash of light.

Theo coughed out a tiny puff of smoke in shock. A snarling, angry Totodile emerged from the Pokéball.

Totodile surveyed the field, looking for his opponent. He had a steely look in his eye that Theo had never seen before. When he saw his opponent, his expression changed to pure rage.

"YOU!" Totodile cried.

"I'M GOING TO TEAR OFF YOUR SNOUT AND FEED IT TO YOU!" In the faint orange glow from Theo's flames, Totodile looked quite insane. Theo took a few steps back.

"Look Totodile," Theo began. "I'm really sorry about everything. I was jealous and… it was terrible of me, I know. There's no excuse for betraying you like I did. But it worked out for the best, right? We both have trainers now…"

"TRAINERS!?" Totodile screamed. "This kid isn't a trainer – he's a thief! He stole me from the Pokémon lab, where I wouldn't have been if it weren't for you! I was stolen from Elm… just picked up off the table and carried away! Do you have any idea how scary that was!? I'm basically this guy's _slave_ now! And you get to live with your special, wonderful trainer who loves you to pieces!"

"Hey, my trainer's not perfect," Theo stammered. "Kamon's… well, he's really standoffish. His social skills aren't very good."

"Well poor, pathetic Cyndaquil, with his adorable little face and his strange, awkward trainer. Your trainer can't express love? MINE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT LOVE IS!"

Theo scampered around in circles. "But you… I…"

Totodile wasn't finished. "I don't even get _dinner_ unless I beat three wild Pokémon a day. This guy isn't my trainer… he's my owner! He treats me like I'm his servant. He treats me like I'm not even alive!"

"Hey Theo!" Kamon called from the sidelines. "What are you… uh… why are you chatting with the Totodile? I get this is your first trainer battle, but we should really start _battling _now." He pointed at the red-haired trainer. "That guy shoved me one time, and we won't let him get away with it!"

The mysterious trainer growled. "You really need to get over that."

"Oh, my trainer shoved your trainer!?" Totodile cried. "You should see what he does to _me _when I lose a battle! Cyndaquil, you miserable, traitorous piece of Snorlax dung! You should be the one stuck with this psycho, not me!"

Theo didn't know what to say. Totodile was right. But how could he fix it now? He couldn't just abandon Kamon, the other trainer probably wouldn't release Totodile willingly, and there was no way to explain what he'd done to everyone.

Not to mention, a tiny, terrible part of him didn't want to change trainers. He liked having a somewhat normal trainer… he didn't want to abandon him to join this thieving lunatic. Did that make him a terrible Pokémon?

"Okay Theo!" Kamon clapped his hands together. "This guy's got a water type, so your fire attacks won't work. Hit him with a Tackle."

"Go ahead," Totodile growled. "Attack me. It won't be any worse than what my master does to me if I lose a battle."

Theo flailed on the spot. He couldn't attack Totodile now… he'd already hurt him more than enough. If he attacked him right now… and especially if he _won_… he'd be some kind of monster.

But this was a direct command from his trainer! He couldn't just stand there and not attack!

"Totodile, Scratch!" the red-haired trainer shouted. Totodile grimaced, and ran towards Theo with his claws raised. Theo whimpered in confusion.

"Why are you standing there!?" Kamon cried. "Theo, use Tackle! Jump out of the way! Do _something!"_

Theo opened his mouth and released a Smokescreen into the air.

"I DIDN'T MEAN THAT!" Kamon cried. Totodile swore loudly as smoke filled his eyes. He flailed his claws at Theo angrily, but missed.

"Okay Theo," Kamon ordered. "Use a Tackle attack. That's the one when you move your body at the opponent. You learned this move as an infant! So why won't you just do it!?"

"Totodile, Scratch!" the mysterious trainer ordered.

Totodile ran at Theo one more time, his eyes red with smoke. Theo waited until he got closer, then released another Smokescreen attack. Totodile tried another Scratch, but he hit the ground beside Theo.

"Sweet Arceus, my eyes!" Totodile cried. "For Shaymin's sake Cyndaquil, are you just trying to humiliate me!?"

"No!" Theo cried. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"I get it," Totodile growled. "You're making me into a laughing stock. I stumble around half blind, while you dance around and barely touch me! This is all hilarious for you… you won't even need to visit the Pokémon Centre before you leave the city. Well, go ahead! My owner's going to be angrier the more humiliating his loss is, but I bet you just love that."

"No!" Theo cried. He flailed his tiny paws in the air. "No, I never wanted this to happen."

"Of course you didn't," Totodile cried. "But better you than me, right?" His eyes were watering from the smoke… or at least, Theo hoped it was the smoke.

"Listen up, you worthless piece of garbage!" The red-haired trainer looked at Totodile like he was something he'd found on the bottom of his shoe. "If you don't stop clowning around and landing some attacks, I'll see how much you like a three day hunger strike!"

Totodile growled meekly. He darted away from Theo, and readied another attack.

"Okay Theo," Kamon cried. "We're going to try a different tactic, since you don't seem to be listening to me today for whatever. I want you to actually use Smokescreen! That's the attack I'm ordering, so now you'll use…?"

Theo didn't know what to do. If he hurt Totodile, he was attacking someone he'd already hurt in so many ways. If he didn't attack Totodile, the evil trainer would only get angrier with the water type. And on top of this, there was his trainer, who Theo was now disobeying in his first ever official battle.

He had to do the right thing. Theo made a mental apology to his trainer, charged at Totodile, and delivered a Tackle attack. Totodile recoiled in pain and tried to deliver a Scratch. Theo actually stood still this time. He didn't want to lose and let down Kamon, but he wanted Totodile to land at least one hit on him.

Totodile tripped over his own feet, and his claws smacked into the pavement.

"I don't believe this!" Kamon cried to his Pokémon. "I don't know what you're going to do next! Does it even matter what commands I give!? Let's try… um… Tackle?"

Theo was glad that his trainer's orders complied with his own moral code for once. He ran at Totodile and tackled the water Pokémon again. Totodile tried to deliver a Scratch, but it was off mark.

The mysterious trainer didn't look pleased. "Humph… You're doing OK for someone weak…" Then he turned to his Totodile. "If you don't turn this around, we'll see if the wild Pokémon like it when I throw you into the lake. I'm betting they'll be angry."

"One more Tackle attack, Theo!" Kamon said. He seemed to be regaining his composure now that Theo was actually listening to him.

Theo charged right at Totodile, and knocked him right off his feet. Totodile cried out one last time and collapsed to the pavement. He looked up at Theo with one semi-conscious, accusing eye. Theo whimpered.

The red-haired trainer looked at the fallen Totodile in disgust. He recalled him, and then turned to face Kamon.

"…Humph. Are you happy you won?"

"I'm happy I get money from you now." Kamon wiped his hands on his muddy jeans. "Does that count?"

Grudgingly, the trainer pulled out some crumpled bills from his jeans pocket. He tossed them at Kamon's feet.

"Do you want to know who I am?" the trainer asked.

Kamon shrugged.

The trainer scowled. "I'm going to be the world's greatest Pokémon trainer."

"Really?" Kamon said. "I mean, you have a single level 5 Pokémon, but follow your dreams, I guess. Hey, wait a second…" He thought for a moment. "Was that the Totodile from Professor Elm's lab? Where did you get it?"

"What!?" the trainer cried. "No… that's… shut up!" The battle had attracted the attention of the sleeping Cherrygrove citizens, and they were now starting to emerge from their houses. The trainer looked around frantically a the growing crowd. He then shoved Kamon to the side and began to run off.

Kamon tripped over his feet, and nearly fell to the ground. "Oh, you son of a Houndour, I am going to tear you a new…!"

As the trainer began to dart away, Theo saw that his Trainer Card had fallen to the ground. The trainer noticed it too. He stopped running, looked around, and darted back to Kamon and the fallen card.

"Give it back!" the stranger cried. "That's my Trainer Card!"

Kamon quite deliberately stepped on it. "Dude, it's a card with your name on it. It's not like it's a credit card or something. You can order another from the Pokémon League; they arrive in two days." He picked up the card and examined it. "This isn't even a good photo of you…"

"Oh no!" the trainer cried. He snatched the Trainer Card away. "You saw my name…"

"I sure did, Trainer Who Shoved Me Two Times Now. And you're going to regret that. Theo, this guy assaulted me twice, and I think he stole that Totodile from Professor Elm. Use Ember!"

Theo was too depressed. He kept picturing Totodile as he was flying through the air. What was the trainer going to do to him? Whatever happened, it would be all Theo's fault. He would have to come clean… but that would mean _he_ would wind up with the crazy trainer. He didn't want that either!

There was one other option. Theo couldn't attack the trainer… that was still against his moral code. But he could get a little more creative.

Theo ran to the red-haired trainer and leaned up against him. To anyone else, it might have looked like he was begging the stranger for a treat.

Then Theo lit up the flames on his back.

Within three seconds, the trainer's pants were ablaze. He shouted several angry words that Theo didn't understand, and took off towards Route 30. Theo thought he would be fine… there were lakes on that route, after all.

"That was awesome!" Kamon cried. "We got money, and an epic new battle strategy. I mean the repeated Smokescreen, not setting people's pants on fire. Although I suppose that's a possible strategy too." Then Kamon looked behind him.

"Oh!" the trainer cried. He was just now noticing the crowd of sleepy, confused Cherrygrove citizens who the battle had awoken. They stood on their front porches in confusion, wondering why two people were battling at one in the morning. "Um… Hello, random civilians. If you're wondering, yes, my Cyndaquil just set a guy on fire. And yes, that guy may very well have stolen a rare Pokémon from a renowned Pokémon researcher. But there's nothing to see here, so you can all go back to bed."

The Cherrygrove citizens decided that was probably the best idea, all things concerned. They lived in a small city, and they weren't used to this kind of commotion any time after dinner. They walked inside and put the matter to rest.

When they were gone, Kamon turned back to Theo.

"You were impressive back there," he said. "Even if you ignored my commands at first, you still came up with a great strategy to win. It was even a better strategy than what I had planned, so points for that. You didn't even take any damage, so we won't need to stop by the Pokémon Centre. We can head straight home to Professor Elm and tell him what happened here. I don't know if that trainer stole the Totodile or not, but either way, he's clearly dangerous. Nice job dealing with him!"

Theo felt a mix of emotions. He'd betrayed Totodile, snatched away the water Pokémon's rightful trainer, and left him to be stolen by a horrible, abusive monster. But he'd won his first trainer battle, and Kamon had just given him a genuine compliment. He should be feeling horribly guilty, and he was… sort of.

"Quil," Theo said sadly. Sometimes there wasn't much more you could say.


	14. Chapter 14: Kamon

"We're almost home," Kamon said. "That sure was an amazing trip along Route 29!"

"Quil," Theo said doubtfully.

"Okay you're right," Kamon admitted. "It was pretty much boring as all get out. If I see another Pidgey, I think I'm going to scream."

A small, angry Pidgey flew down from the sky. "Piiii!" said the Pidgey.

Kamon kept his word. Then he sent Theo running out to battle.

"Theo, use Ember!" Kamon cried.

The Pidgey had good reflexes, but Theo's were better. He darted towards the bird Pokémon and unleashed a blast of fire. The Pidgey cried out and fell to the ground, defeated.

Kamon patted Theo on the head and examined the Pidgey. Cyndaquil was taking the Route 29 Pokémon out in one hit now. He really was getting stronger… Kamon was actually impressed with him.

"Let's get out of this grass," Kamon said. "New Bark Town's only ten minutes away."

The winds picked up as Kamon and Theo walked towards New Bark Town. The sunrise bathed the town in an orange glow. After having been to Cherrygrove City and exploring all those routes, New Bark Town seemed smaller.

Kamon walked down the main street towards Professor Elm's lab. Fewer people were outside this morning than he was used to. The few people who were outside were looking at their neighbours warily. Kamon waved at a man who'd sold him groceries for three years, but the man just frowned and went inside his store.

"You leave for a week and everyone goes crazy," Kamon muttered. He walked towards the lab.

Even from a distance, Kamon could tell something was wrong there. Theo was growling faintly, and Kamon guessed that Theo suspected something was up with the lab too. There was faint yellow tape along one of the windows, and the front door was ajar.

"What happened there?" Kamon thought. "Mom lives next door… is she okay? What about Professor Elm?"

Theo looked just as concerned as Kamon did. They headed towards the lab, which the rest of the New Bark Town citizens seem to have been avoiding. As Kamon stepped closer, he saw the lab window had been smashed in, and it had been covered in police tape. The front door was covered with yellow tape as well. The tape read: POLICE LINE. DO NOT CROSS.

Kamon edged away from the door; he didn't want to get on the wrong side of the police, and he didn't want to interrupt a crime scene. Theo had no such concerns however, and darted beneath the yellow tape with a concerned squeak.

"Theo!" Kamon cried. "Get back here!" He stepped gingerly over the yellow tape, and ran after his Cyndaquil.

The lab was much darker inside, and Kamon squinted as his eyes adjusted. The broken window hadn't been fixed, so a cool draft wafted through the lab. Professor Elm's assistant sat in a corner, dejectedly looking through a pile of notes. The professor himself was standing by his computer, speaking with a police officer.

Shards of glass from the broken window sparkled on the floor. Kamon picked Theo up to make sure he didn't step on any of it. The Cyndaquil squirmed in his arms, clearly worried about the professor. Elm was lost in thought, speaking with the police.

"Professor Elm!" Kamon called out. "I got your message… what happened here!?"

Professor Elm and the police officer turned together at the sound of Kamon's voice. The professor looked relieved and tired, while the officer looked suspicious.

"Who are you?" the police officer growled. "We are investigating the case of the missing Pokémon here…"

"There's a missing Pokémon?" Kamon remembered the trainer he'd fought in Cherrygrove City, Professor Elm's panicky phone call, and that Totodile that had looked so familiar.

"Rule number one!" the police officer cried. "'Whoever did it will come back to the site.' Oh my… So you must be… the one who did it?"

"What!?" Kamon cried. "No! What kind of deductive reasoning is that!?"

The police officer's expression changed. "You shouldn't have stolen that Pokémon, son. I don't think you'll last very long in prison."

"Prison!?" This conversation wasn't going at all the way Kamon had intended. "You can't send me to prison – I'm _ten!"_

"I take it this Cyndaquil is the missing Pokémon?" The officer reached his hand towards Theo to grab him. Theo squirmed away and snarled at him.

Before Kamon could say anything else, Lyra burst through the lab's front doors. She tore the police tape as she raced through it, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Hold on a second!" Lyra cried. "He has nothing to do with it!"

"Another accomplice?" the officer frowned. "Kids today, with their loud music and their baggy pants and their breaking and entry…"

The police officer continued on like this for a while. Eventually he paused for a breath, and Lyra interrupted him.

"I saw it," Lyra explained. "There was a red-haired boy looking into the building!"

"I know who you're talking about!" Kamon cried. His suspicions had been right. "I battled a red-haired kid in Cherrygrove City! He had a Totodile the same level as the one from the lab. Totodile _was_ the Pokémon that was stolen, right?"

"That's right," Professor Elm said quietly. He pointed to the Pokéball machine, where a single Pokéball sat dejectedly on the platform. Inside, a lonely Chikorita stared at the commotion.

"What?" The police officer turned to Kamon. "You battled a boy like that? He must be the one who did it… Did you happen to get his name?"

Any number of names came to Kamon's mind. For a moment he thought how funny it would be if there were wanted posters of the red-haired kid that said his name was "Snorlax Butt". But Kamon's sense of civic duty won out, and he gave the police officer the name he'd seen on the Trainer Card.

"His name was Silver," Kamon said.

"I see!" the police officer nodded. "So Silver was his name."

Kamon nodded.

"Thanks for helping my investigation!" The police officer smiled at Kamon and Lyra. "Sorry about threatening to send you both to prison! My next assignment is to search for this red-haired individual."

"Be careful," Kamon said. "He likes to shove people, and that can get really annoying."

"Don't worry about me!" The police officer smiled, bid everyone farewell, and walked away. Kamon was glad to see the last of him.

"Kamon!" Lyra cried. "I'm glad they understand you are innocent."

"Thanks for helping with that," Kamon smiled. "Hey, where's your Marill?"

"He's in his Pokéball," Lyra said. "I don't feel safe having him walk beside me if a Pokémon thief is around. The whole town's really upset about this."

Kamon could see why. New Bark Town hadn't seen any criminal activity since Old Man Winthorpe had his turnip cart knocked over by a Sentret. Nobody even locked their doors – it was a small wonder that they weren't prepared for a Pokémon thief.

"I should get going!" Lyra said. "Maybe I can catch this trainer myself. See you later!"

Lyra waved goodbye to Kamon and Professor Elm, and walked back out the lab door.

Now that they were alone, Professor Elm sat down and sighed. "Kamon, this is terrible…"

"It's not so bad," Kamon said. "The police are looking for this guy. And maybe he'll treat the Totodile just like a regular trainer would." Kamon didn't think that was true based on the battle he'd seen, but it didn't hurt to give Professor Elm some hope. It seemed to work – the professor brightened up a bit and he adjusted his glasses.

"Oh, yes," he said. "What was Mr. Pokémon's big discovery?"

"Oh that…" Kamon felt guilty at the reminder. "It was… um… a Pokémon egg."

"Was it a really unique Pokémon egg?" Professor Elm asked.

"I… well… can't say for sure." The egg had markings of different colours, but even after Kamon had brushed all the mud off it, he hadn't the slightest idea what the Pokémon inside would be.

"See for yourself." Kamon opened his backpack and gingerly handed the egg to Professor Elm.

"Huh?" Professor Elm adjusted his glasses. "This is an… Egg, isn't it? I haven't seen any egg like it before…"

Kamon smiled awkwardly. "Neither has Mr. Pokémon."

"This egg may be something I've never seen…" Professor Elm examined it closer. "Still, it's just an egg. Mr. Pokémon is always fascinated by eggs."

"So that means they aren't that important?" Kamon stammered. "If… say… somebody broke one, it wouldn't be that bad?"

"Oh no it'd be terribe," Professor Elm said. "An egg is still an unborn Pokémon, so no doubt breaking one would be a terrible thing to do. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Kamon sighed.

"Well, since he gave it to us, we might as well find out what secret it holds."

"Er… right." Kamon fiddled with his hat. "Let's do that."

Professor Elm set the egg down gently on a table. "I'll keep it for a while to find out about the egg."

"Sure," Kamon said. "Or maybe I could just scan it with my Pokédex. Professor Oak gave it to me, but I haven't used it much yet…"

Professor Elm flinched back. "What?! Professor Oak gave you a Pokédex? Kamon, is that true?"

Kamon blinked. "Sure. Is that special?"

Professor Elm nodded frantically. "Th-that's incredible! He is superb at seeing the potential of people as Trainers."

Kamon wasn't sure about what kind of potential he might have… he could barely even communicate with Cyndaquil. The Pokédex was a nice tool to have, though.

"Wow, Kamon." The fear and anxiety had now completely disappeared from Professor Elm's face. "I knew you were a little different. Things are going to be fun!"

Kamon couldn't help but smile a bit. Professor Elm's optimism was contagious.

Professor Elm thought for a moment. He paced around the lab, his footsteps crinkling the broken glass, and then he turned back to Kamon.

"Your Pokémon seem to really like you, so why don't you… take the Pokémon Gym challenge?"

Kamon didn't even know that Theo liked him that much. He stared down at the Cyndaquil in his arms. The Pokémon Gym challenge? He mostly wanted to be a trainer to get out of the Rattata's nest that was New Bark Town, but a Gym challenge…

That could be fun. Kamon felt his grin widen.

"If you manage to defeat all the Gym Leaders, you'll eventually challenge the Pokémon League Champion." Professor Elm smiled at Kamon and Theo. "…Or not! Ha ha! Becoming the Champion is not at all easy, but you can certainly challenge Violet City's Gym."

Violet City wasn't that far beyond Mr. Pokémon's house. Kamon didn't like the idea of having to travel the same route all over again, but if it led to a Gym badge…

Kamon looked down at Theo. "What do you think?"

Theo wiggled in his arms. Kamon took that to mean that he agreed.

Professor Elm stood back and leaned against his desk. "…Kamon. Challenging the Gyms scattered around will be a long journey. Before you leave, make sure that you talk to your mom."

"She's okay, isn't she?" Kamon asked. "I mean, the robbery took place right next door to her, and she doesn't have any Pokémon of her own."

"Oh she's fine," Professor Elm said. "Now don't give up! I'll call if I learn anything about that egg!"

Kamon smiled. He felt somehow different now. He was a trainer who was taking the Pokémon Gym challenge. As he got more badges, he could catch stronger Pokémon. Maybe Elm was right, and he'd even become Champion one day.

As Kamon set Theo down by his feet and headed out the door, he felt his confidence begin to grow.


	15. Chapter 15: Chikorita

"Please don't leave me."

Cyndaquil didn't hear her over the sound of Kamon and Professor Elm bidding each other goodbye. Chikorita called after her old friend, but remained trapped in her Pokéball. The ball now had a thin coat of dust covering it.

Cyndaquil followed his owner out the lab door, past the ruins of the police tape, and out of Chikorita's life.

Ever since the robbery, Professor Elm had all but ignored the grass type. He was panicky and flustered, trying to console his family while simultaneously burying himself in his work. Now he waved goodbye to Kamon, and then returned to his laptop and began typing up a report. Off in the corner, his assistant Kevin was filling out insurance forms.

Chikorita hadn't seen the outside the lab in well over a week. Ever since Professor Elm gave Cyndaquil to Kamon, he'd been busy working to obtain another Cyndaquil from a Pokémon breeder he knew in Hoenn. The robbery had only made him more flustered. So now Chikorita sat dejectedly in her Pokéball, while Cyndaquil and Totodile were off exploring Johto. They were having grand adventures, and she was lucky if Professor Elm remembered to let her out for bathroom breaks.

It was horrible to admit, but Chikorita wished she had been captured by the red-haired thief.

She curled up in her Pokéball and whimpered. After the robbery, the New Bark Town citizens had been avoiding Professor Elm's lab. They must have been afraid the thief would come back. And if this red-haired stranger was lurking on Route 29 someplace, parents wouldn't be likely to let their kids start off on a Pokémon journey. And even if they did… Chikorita was the only choice left. The choice nobody wanted. Why would they pick her?

What kind of trainer would want to start with a Chikorita anyway? She was the Magikarp of Johto starters, except she didn't evolve into anything good. Maybe she was worthy of lying in a discount bin in a Game Corner someplace, but she wasn't worthy of being somebody's starter. And who would want her anyway? She was at a type disadvantage for the first two gyms, and the fourth too. Not to mention there was the stupid leaf on her head… it didn't even do anything!

Chikorita slumped against the side of the ball and her leaf drooped in her face. She growled and swatted it away.

At least Cyndaquil hadn't noticed her when he'd been inside earlier. He'd been so distracted with the police officer and the break in that he hadn't even spared a glance over to the Pokéball machine. Chikorita was glad Cyndaquil hadn't seen her like this… but if you thought about it that made things even worse. She'd been involved in a terrifying robbery and Cyndaquil hadn't even cared enough to look over and make sure she was alright. He didn't care about her at all.

She hadn't noticed how much she missed Cyndaquil until after the robbery. Before that, Totodile was always talking about something or other, and she barely had a moment to herself. It was easy to forget about her personal problems. But now that he was gone, Chikorita was left alone with her thoughts. There was some depressing company.

She'd been afraid of Cyndaquil a little, after what he did to Totodile. But she knew he was still a good Pokémon… and she hoped Totodile could forgive him. Once she'd tried telling Totodile that he should forgive Cyndaquil, and the water Pokémon had spent the next twenty minutes ranting about how he was going to bite Cyndaquil's head off.

"I wonder if Cyndaquil ever thinks about me?" Chikorita thought. "When he's out on the road, learning new attacks, beating trainers…"

Then Chikorita frowned. It wasn't fair. Totodile and Cyndaquil were both gone, and they were never coming back (or at least Totodile wasn't). Because of the robbery, no sane parent would let their child start raising a Pokémon… especially a rare one like her. So now she was going to sit here alone forever, with nobody to talk to but the Sentrets that raided Professor Elm's trash bins?

No. That wasn't happening.

She didn't have to rot in this dusty lab forever. She could take charge of her own fate. She could walk out there and find a trainer, just like Cyndaquil had done!

"I don't know how," Chikorita began. "And I don't know when. But I'm going to break out of here. And then I'm going to go find a new trainer myself."


	16. Chapter 16: Theo

"Get out of the way, Theo." Kamon tried to step around the Cyndaquil, but Theo darted in front of him.

"Quil!" he squeaked. Kamon had been trying to sneak out of New Bark Town without saying goodbye to his mom, and that didn't sit right with Theo. He squeaked again.

"Cynda! Cynda!" Theo gestured farther down the street, towards Kamon's house. "Quil!"

"What is it?" Kamon said. "Something about my house? You want to go back to my house? Why would you… oh, it's my mom. You think I should say goodbye."

"Quil!" Theo cried happily.

"I can't believe I understood that," Kamon said. "Maybe I'm losing my mind. Alright, come on Theo. We're going to say goodbye to my mom. But if she tries to give us boring tutorials again, that's on you."

Theo didn't care. He happily followed his trainer back to the small two-story house next to the lab. After everything that had happened with Totodile, he was trying his best to do the right thing.

Kamon knocked on his front door, and pushed it open. His mom sat at the kitchen counter, just finishing seasoning some filet mignon. The smell of cloves and garlic made Theo hungry, and he wondered if Kamon's mom was the sort of person who fed Pokémon human food. Theo knew that some humans thought he was really cute, and if he begged often enough, they would give him food. It had worked every time Professor Elm had his friend Professor Birch over from Hoenn. Theo always gained at least five pounds after the professor's visit.

"Kamon!" The trainer's mother smiled at Kamon and Theo. "How was your trip?"

"It went well," Kamon shrugged. He fished around in his bag for the Pokédex. He held it out to show his mother. "I met Professor Oak, and he gave me this."

"That looks impressive!" His mother moved to touch the Pokédex, but Kamon put it away. "Kamon, what does it do?"

"It records Pokémon," Kamon said. "Professor Oak and Professor Elm want me to complete the Pokédex, so I'm going to be leaving with Theo on a journey. So this is goodbye, I guess. So… um… take care."

Kamon's mother's eyes began to tear up. Theo tiptoed towards her and sat at her ankles. He stared up at her longingly, wondering if she might toss him down a bit of meat. It sure looked good.

"Oh Kamon… All boys leave home one day, but this is just such short notice." Kamon's mother wiped away a tear. Kamon stood there awkwardly, like he wished he were anywhere else in the world.

"Quil!" Theo piped up. He waved his paws in the air at Kamon's mother to get her attention. Then he gestured to the meat on the counter. "Quil! Quil!"

Kamon's mother petted him absently. She didn't seem to really have registered that the fire type was sitting there.

"…So, you're leaving on an adventure…" She still appeared in shock. For a moment it looked like Kamon's mother was about to cry. Then she saw the composed, nonchalant, even bored look on her son's face.

"You're embarrassing yourself," Kamon said. "You have my phone number; you can call if you need me."

Kamon's mom wiped the tears away. She steeled herself and looked her son in the eye.

"OK! I'll help too. But what can I do for you?"

"I know what you can do for me!" Theo thought. "Feed me!"

Kamon's mother continued to ignore Theo.

"I know!" she said. "Every time you receive prize money, I'll save some of it for you. On a long journey, money's important."

"Sure," Kamon said. "So why should I give any of it to you? It sounds like you're just asking me to support you financially here."

"No!" Kamon's mother looked flustered. "I'm just trying to help you!"

"Yeah help yourself to my money," Kamon muttered. "But fine, whatever, if it means you won't call me all the time."

"Do you want me to save your money for you?" Kamon's mother asked him. Theo now attempted to lay down right at the older woman's feet, but she still ignored him.

"Fine," Kamon waved his hand in dismissal. "Do whatever you want. Soon I'll be crushing gyms anyway, and I'll have cash to spare."

"OK, I'll take care of your money." Kamon's mother ruffled his hair. "Be careful."

Kamon snorted. "You worry too much."

Theo thought that his trainer's mom had a fair point – in recent history Kamon had jumped off a cliff and nearly broken his leg, and also accidentally crushed an unborn Pokémon. And that was without counting the accidental encounter with the wanted thief. Theo reflected that it must be difficult for parents to let their children go out into the world of Pokémon alone. Their children were climbing waterfalls, battling giant monsters, and flying through cities ninety feet in the air. It would take a special kind of parent to let their child follow their dreams like that.

Theo's stomach growled. He continued to paw at Kamon's mom's pant leg.

Kamon's mother put her hand on her son's shoulder. "Try to enjoy yourself, dear. Pokémon are your friends."

"Your hungry friends," Theo thought. "And you should feed them filet mignon, with cloves and garlic."

"When you work as a team, you can accomplish anything!" Kamon's mother smiled, but Kamon didn't smile back. Theo thought his trainer still had a great deal to learn about teamwork, but then Theo only had Kamon as his trainer because he'd assaulted the boy's original starter choice. So maybe Theo wasn't the best creature to be judging here.

"Now, go on!" Kamon's mother smiled. "I'm so proud of you; I just know you're going to do great things!"

"You don't know that," Kamon said. "But thanks, I guess." His mother moved in for a hug, and Kamon awkwardly accepted it. Theo tried to hug Kamon's leg, but his trainer shook him off.

"One other thing," Kamon's mother smiled at her son as though she'd just tasted something bitter. "This is a little difficult to say…"

Kamon shrugged. "Then don't say it."

"No dear, this is important. I think… I think you should try to be a little nicer to your Pokémon."

Kamon bristled at that. Theo found himself liking Kamon's mom more with every minute. It wasn't that he hated his trainer or anything… but Kamon could be a bit standoffish at times. It was like he didn't really treat Theo like a living being… just a weapon for battle. Theo hadn't noticed how much it had bothered him until his trainer's mom had mentioned it. Now he sat down at Kamon's feet and whimpered.

To make matters worse, he was still hungry.

"Fine," Kamon sighed. "Whatever. I'll be nice to Theo. It'll be touching and loving and whatever."

"I know it will! Now take care dear," the boy's mother said. "And you should feed your Cyndaquil when you get the chance. He looks hungry."

"Oh yeah," Kamon said. He walked out the door and then turned to Theo. "Are you hungry for lunch yet? I have kibbles and bits."

Theo growled and shook his head. Thinking wistfully of his lost meal, he followed his trainer out onto Route 29. Maybe there were some delicious, wonderful meals to be had out here.

He kind of doubted it, though.


	17. Chapter 17: Kamon

Kamon headed out onto Route 29, and the winds of New Bark Town died down behind him. It was warmer out on Route 29, with the sun beating down on him. Kamon adjusted his hat and began to head onward.

"There you are!" A voice called out at him. Kamon searched the field, but couldn't see anyone. He squinted, and could barely make out a figure off in the distance, near a thicket of tall grass. Kamon slowly walked towards the figure, and soon recognized it.

Lyra and her Marill went bouncing towards them.

"Kamon!" Lyra cried. "You can catch wild Pokémon with Pokéballs."

"So those PokéMarts are finally in stock?" Kamon asked. "That's great!"

Lyra nodded. "Follow me!"

She led Kamon and Theo towards the tall grass. The grass came up to Kamon's waist, and he had to be careful to make sure he didn't trip over a rotting log. Lyra and her Marill led Kamon to the centre of the grass, where they stamped up and down vigorously. Before long, a Hoothoot poked its head out of the bushes to see what all the commotion is.

"Quil?" Theo looked confused.

Kamon turned to his Pokémon. "Lyra's going to show us how to catch Pokémon. She's pretty good, so we should watch closely. After all she's caught a Marill already, and those are pretty…" Kamon turned back to his friend. "…Oh, crud."

Lyra was already holding a Pokéball in her hand, with a dazed Pidgey inside. She grinned and returned to Kamon. "…Just like that!"

"Er…" Kamon stammered. "We actually didn't really… see you do that. We just missed it."

"Quil!" Theo interrupted.

"Yes, I know you were watching. Lyra, do you mind showing us again?"

"…Huh? Was I too fast?" Lyra grinned, and Kamon couldn't help grinning back. Lyra had already helped him out with the police earlier that day, and her optimism was contagious. "I'll try again. Come this way!"

Kamon followed Lyra further out onto Route 29. Soon the tall grass was up to their shoulders. Theo had to subdue the flames on his back, or he would've started a brush fire.

"This should do it!" Lyra grinned. "Now let me know if you see… there's one!"

A Rattata poked its head out and Marill ran at it. Lyra readied a Pokéball in her hand.

"Watch closely, Kamon. Marill, use Tackle!"

Marill ran towards Rattata and bounced against it with its round body. The Rattata countered with a Tail Whip, but it barely affected Marill.

"OK, it's HP is down! It's ready for a Pokéball!" Lyra readied the ball. "Kamon, I hope you're watching this!"

Kamon couldn't look away. Against all his instincts, he reached down and patted Theo's head. He hoped the Cyndaquil was as excited as he was. They were seeing a real pro at work here.

Lyra threw the Pokéball, and Rattata disappeared in a flash of red light. The Pokéball shook once, twice, a third time… and was still.

"Gotcha!" Lyra cried. She turned to Kamon and pumped her fist in the air. "Now that's learning something!"

"It was impressive!" Kamon agreed.

"See? Just like that!" Lyra smiled, and Kamon couldn't help smiling too. "It's better to lower your target's HP more than I did, or make it sleep or something."

"It looks like your strategy worked really well!" Kamon grinned.

"You can try all kinds of things to see what works." Lyra smiled. "I'll give you these. Good luck!"

Lyra opened her bag and took five small red/white balls out. She placed them in Kamon's hands and his heart lurched.

"Pokéballs… Lyra, I can't take all these. They must cost a fortune."

"Don't worry about it!" Lyra laughed. "It's part of helping a new trainer! See you!"

"Yeah, I'll see you… uh… later." Kamon waved as Lyra wandered off, with her Marill bouncing behind her. He wished he had come up with some sort of better farewell.

"Wasn't that fun, Theo?" Kamon smiled. "It's always fun to meet with friends like that."

Theo stared at his owner as though he'd just suffered brain damage. He edged a few feet away from him.

"What?" Kamon asked. "It was fun, wasn't it? I had fun, didn't you?"

Theo looked like the word "fun" was not something he'd expected his trainer to say in… well… ever. Truthfully, Kamon wasn't sure what he was in such a good mood about either. It was probably just that he'd had lots of fun learning to catch Pokémon with his friend. Lyra really knew what she was doing, and it was a refreshing change in pace from the idiots he had to deal with on his journey so far.

"That was really something," Kamon said. He began to walk off. "Maybe we should catch a Marill. They're really hard to find, but they're so useful. Having a Marill is a sign of being a really powerful trainer, you know…"

"Quil!" Theo said sharply. Kamon turned around in confusion.

He had left the Pokéballs lying right in the field. He didn't even remember dropping them.

"What is _wrong_ with me?" Kamon asked himself. He wasn't usually like this. He should be excited! He finally had some Pokéballs! He could catch Pokémon!

"Thanks for that, Theo." Kamon patted the Cyndaquil's head. "Now what should we catch first? You're part of the team, so I feel you should have some say in our first capture. This route has Pidgey, Rattata, Sentret, Hoohoot…"

"Quil!" said Theo.

"I… don't know what you said there. In retrospect, asking you that way was kind of stupid. Okay Theo… raise your paw if you think we should catch a Rattata."

Theo raised his paw.

"Raise your paw if you think we should catch a Pidgey."

Theo raised his paw.

"Raise your paw for a Sentret."

Theo raised his paw.

"Raise your paw for a Hoothoot."

Theo raised his paw.

"Raise your paw if you don't care what we catch, and you're only doing this because you can't think of another way to tell me."

Theo raised his paw.

"Fine," Kamon sighed. "Paws down. How's this sound… we catch the first wild Pokémon we come across? Does that sound good?"

Theo nodded his head.

"Alright," Kamon said. The afternoon sun hadn't yet disappeared behind the trees. "We still have a couple hours of sunlight; that's plenty of time to find something. So you scan the trees, and I'll scan the tall grass. If we're perfectly quiet, something might come to us."

Kamon and Theo sat in silence for a few moments, patiently waiting for a Pokémon to reach them. It took longer than expected, and Kamon felt himself start to drift off to sleep. The he would snap back, shake himself awake, and keep watching the grass.

The sun began to disappear behind the clouds and Route 29 grew colder. Kamon was about to reach for his jacket, when a twig snapped in the grass and the trainer froze.

Just beyond his line of sight, something was wiggling in the grass.

Kamon readied a Pokéball. His very first capture was sitting just out of sight in the grass.


	18. Chapter 18: Walnut

The Sentret stared through the grass at the trainer and his Pokémon.

"Don't do it," he thought to himself. "That's a Cyndaquil – one of those starter Pokémon. They're super strong, and it looks like this one's been training for a while. Longer than you, that's for sure. And who's to say what other Pokémon the kid has? It's not safe to engage these guys. Just let them pass you by."

That was the smart idea. That was what the other Sentrets would have done. But then the other Sentrets had kicked him out of the pack for insubordination, so what in the name of Arceus did _they_ know anyway?

The Sentret wiggled his tail. He was hungry, and something smelled delicious in the trainer's bag. Maybe he could run in and beg the trainer for food. That sometimes worked.

Still, this trainer didn't look like he'd be swayed by Sentret's adorable little face and his long poofy tail. Sentret sat in the bushes wagging that tail. To attack the trainer, or not to attack the trainer…

Suddenly the trainer looked up, and he motioned to his Cyndaquil. He took out a Pokéball and turned right to where Sentret was crouched.

"There's something in the bushes," the trainer called out. "Theo, attack!"

The Cyndaquil, apparently named Theo, darted towards the tall grass that Sentret thought was fully concealing him. They must have seen his big tail start to wag. Sentret's tail was lots of fun for balancing on, but it got to be a real hassle whenever he had to run away. At times like… well, like right now for instance.

Theo the Cyndaquil poked his head through the grass, and in that moment they were face to face. Theo growled.

"I'm hungry," said the Sentret. "Hey, does your trainer give out food to wild Pokémon?"

Theo shook his head. Sentret couldn't blame his trainer for that; if he gave food to every Pokémon that begged for him, he'd have thirty strays following him within a week. That meant Sentret would just have to beat Theo the Cyndaquil, and take some of the trainer's food himself. He didn't think of it as stealing. Trainers gave each other money when they lost. His idea was just the wild Pokémon version of what trainers did to each other.

Theo growled again, and Sentret growled back. He perched himself on his tail, ready for battle.

"Okay Theo," the trainer began. "This is going to be our first capture! Are you ready?"

Sentret nearly lost his balance. The trainer's first capture? That meant that even if Sentret lost, he would still get free food. He wiggled his nose happily. The contents of the trainer's bag already smelled delicious.

"Theo, use Tackle!" the trainer called out. Sentret braced himself for the impact, and the Tackle knocked him to the ground. He rolled along the ground and came to a stop, panicked. This Cyndaquil was much stronger than he was… did he have even a chance at beating it? He wasn't sure what to do – he'd never fought anything this strong before. Sentret turned to Cyndaquil and delivered the first attack that came to mind… Foresight.

Theo the Cyndaquil looked at Sentret blankly. Sentret groaned inwardly. That had been sort of spur of the moment… not exactly the best idea. He'd heard about Pokémon that delivered stupid attacks in the spur of the moment, but he never thought it would happen to him.

"Now let's try this!" The trainer took the Pokéball in his hand and threw it at Sentret. Sentret moved to dodge, but he tripped over his tail and fell to the ground. A flash of red light overcame him, and suddenly he was in the Pokéball. He thrashed around inside, shaking the ball once… twice…three times…

Sentret collapsed against the side of the ball. He was captured.

"Nice job, Theo!" the trainer shouted. He walked over to the Pokéball (well, it was Sentret's Pokéball now) and picked it up. He examined the tiny Sentret inside, and for a moment their eyes met. Then Kamon pressed the white button on the Pokéball and Sentret was released in a flash of light.

"Sen?" Sentret felt dizzy, and still sore from the Tackle earlier. Was this what being a trainer's Pokémon was like? He didn't feel any different.

Theo the Cyndaquil ran up to Sentret. "Hi there!" he said. "You must be our new Pokémon! Kamon was really excited about catching a new Pokémon."

"Kamon?" Sentret was confused.

"Kamon's my trainer. Well, he's _our_ trainer now." Theo gestured towards the boy, who was now examining his Pokégear. "Welcome to the team!"

The trainer (also known as Kamon) stepped in front of Sentret. "You need a nickname. I'm going to call you Walnut. How does that sound?"

Sentret wasn't sure he liked the name Walnut. He shook his head and his entire body swayed.

"Well I've already keyed it into the Pokégear," Kamon shrugged. "It's too late to change it. So we're all just going to have to deal with it."

Sentret lowered his ears. He wasn't sure he would like being a trainer's Pokémon. As a wild Pokémon, trainer's Pokémon seemed to have it all. A place to sleep, lots of friends… But now he was starting to imagine what he would give up by travelling with a trainer. As a wild Pokémon he could run along Route 29 wherever he wanted to go. He could fight any wild Pokémon that got in his way. He could eat anything he wanted…

Sentret paused. He remembered the smells from inside the trainer's bag. That had been what attracted his attention in the first place. And the bag still smelled pretty good.

Sentret raced towards the bag and pawed around in it. He rooted past Kamon's Pokédex and a few potions. Kamon stood behind him awkwardly, not sure if he should stop Sentret or not.

Finally Sentret found the source of the delicious smells. Near the bottom of the bag was a small yellow box with a white lid. Sentret had seen these boxes before. This was an Apricorn Box.

Sentret undid the latch with his nose, and pried the box open. Inside were three green Apricorns, and a pink one. Sentret had never seen pink Apricorns before; only green ones grew on Route 29. He picked up the pink Apricorn and examined it in his tiny paws.

Then he swallowed it in one bite.

It tasted delicious… like cooked meat with gravy. Sentret had tried that only once before, when he'd briefly befriended a rich lady en route to Cherrygrove City. The lady had fed him well, but their friendship had ended when Sentret chewed on one of her ballroom shoes. But with this new trainer… Sentret could eat like this all the time.

"Um… hey," Kamon waved at his newest Pokémon. "Are you okay? Because I'm pretty sure Pokémon aren't supposed to eat Apricorns."

Walnut scurried over to his new trainer and sat down at his feet. He squeaked happily. As long as Kamon kept feeding him like this, they were going to be the best friends _ever._


	19. Chapter 19: Rattata

Rattata had fallen asleep.

If his legs could reach, he would have kicked himself. He'd sat along Route 29 for days waiting for that stupid Cyndaquil trainer to return to New Bark Town. It seemed unlikely that the trainer had left New Bark Town forever. So Rattata had stayed awake for two days straight, waiting for the trainer and his little Cyndaquil to return along Route 29. He crouched in the grass just beside the main path, waiting…

Eventually he had fallen asleep. After two all-night watches, he slept like a Snorlax. He must have snoozed for close to a day, because when he woke the morning sun was warming the route. He stretched his tiny body, and felt a strange sense of calmness. The rest had really helped him, and now he could stay awake until…

Rattata sniffed the air.

A faint smoky smell wafted through the breeze. It smelled a little like charcoal. And if Rattata sniffed harder, he could smell the winds of New Bark Town as well.

The Cyndaquil trainer had walked right past Rattata while he slept. The trainer hadn't even noticed him.

Rattata had cursed loudly, and tore apart a small tree with his teeth in rage. It was lucky that no wild Pokémon were nearby, or he would've torn them to pieces. Well… he would have tried, anyway.

"No," Rattata had growled then. "I'm not giving up. This trainer is going to pay."

Then Rattata had sat right back down, and he hadn't moved from that spot since. If he followed the trainer to New Bark Town, he'd lose the scent amidst the others. The trainer had to leave New Bark Town eventually. And when he did, he'd come right back along Route 29's path. That was where Rattata would get him.

Rattata had sat in the grass for nearly another full day, staying awake through sheer force of will, when the Cyndaquil trainer approached. Rattata had heard him coming from a long ways off… he was farther down the path battling a wild Pidgey. He didn't have the Cyndaquil with him today. Instead a Sentret was following at his feet, and it was making short work of a wild Pidgey. The Sentret delivered a Scratch attack and the Pidgey fell to the ground.

"You've reached level 5," the trainer said to his Sentret. "Nice work."

The Sentret reached towards the trainer's bag, but the trainer pushed him away.

"No time for that. We need to keep going… I want to reach Cherrygrove City before it gets too dark. We might trip over a branch or something if we walk too late at night."

Rattata would have preferred the trainer keep walking at night. The Rattata species was largely nocturnal, and they could see in the dark just as easily as the daytime. It was just one of his many amazing traits that would help him crush this annoying trainer.

Rattata stayed perfectly still as the trainer walked along the path towards him.

When the trainer was less than twenty feet away, Rattata leapt out into the path. He bared his teeth at the trainer and his Sentret.

"It's payback time!" Rattata screeched. "You humiliated me, and now I'm going to turn you into my personal chew toy!"

The Sentret winced at this. The trainer hadn't understood Rattata, and he looked down at him bored.

"Hey look, a Rattata. Okay Walnut, let's fight it. You could use the experience."

Rattata snarled. The trainer didn't even recognize him. Well that was fine. The rat Pokémon had a way to jog the trainer's memory.

Rattata leapt towards the trainer and bit him on the ankle. He held tight and didn't let go. The trainer cried out and shook his leg. Rattata flailed around in the air, but held tight.

"Oh for Arceus' sake, it's this thing again!" Rattata was pleased that the trainer had remembered him, but that feeling of satisfaction ended when the trainer swung his leg against a tree. Rattata squeaked in pain and the trainer continued to shout. "Walnut, get it off!"

The Sentret, apparently named Walnut, ran towards Rattata and jumped at him. His claws glistened in the sunlight and he aimed a Scratch attack directly at Rattata. Rattata broke free from the trainer and darted towards Walnut. He was faster than the Sentret, and he whacked the brown Pokémon with a Tail Whip.

Then the Sentret's Scratch attack connected, and for a moment Rattata had wings.

"I can fly," he thought as he sailed through the air. His flight pattern when he crashed straight into a tree. He fell twenty feet, before landing on a tree branch and crying out in pain. He tumbled off the branch and collapsed to the ground.

"A critical hit," the trainer said. "Nice job, Walnut."

Walnut grinned and scratched his ear. The trainer regarded the semi-conscious Rattata for a moment.

"You've attacked me twice now," the trainer said. He picked up the limp Rattata by the tail and Rattata was too weak to struggle. "I'm guessing you have something against me, but it doesn't really matter. I'm leaving New Bark Town behind forever, so we're not likely to see each other again. There isn't any point in dealing with you." He set the Rattata down and turned away.

"I'd stop picking fights with trainers so much stronger than you. Some of them might not be as forgiving as me."

Rattata looked up at the trainer in confusion. He was leaving New Bark town…?

"No," Rattata thought to himself. "You can't leave. I've lost to you twice now… I can't give up. I _have_ to defeat you." He tried to stand up, but collapsed back to the ground.

The trainer examined his leg. "You're lucky you didn't break skin. Come on, Walnut."

"Sen!" The Sentret followed his owner happily, his large tail bobbing in the air.

With that, the Cyndaquil trainer, now also known as the Sentret trainer, walked off down the route and out of Rattata's sight. Soon their scent was all that remained. The Sentret smelled like Cheri Berries, and the trainer had the faint smoky smell of a person who spent lots of time with fire types.

After a few hours, Rattata was feeling well enough to stand again.

He'd lost to the trainer twice now… and to two different Pokémon. He would've waited for the trainer to return a third time, but the boy said he was leaving New Bark Town forever. Rattata would never be able to challenge him again. All Rattata had left of the Cyndaquil trainer now was his scent, and that was growing fainter by the minute…

Rattata smirked. That was it. He could track the trainer down using his keen Rattata sense of smell. Then he could challenge him again, and this time he would win.

Pokémon were strongly discouraged from venturing beyond the route where they lived. There was a reason you didn't see Ledyba flying over to the Ruins of Alph. If you headed to a place where the wild Pokémon were on average higher level than you, you could get seriously hurt.

But that wouldn't happen to him. He'd be careful. And besides, he was strong enough to survive whatever the Pokémon world threw at him.

Walking slowly so he didn't collapse again, Rattata began to follow the Cyndaquil trainer's scent.


	20. Chapter 20: Kamon

In the dream, Kamon had been walking for days.

It was like walking on an alien planet. The sky above was midnight blue, and there were no stars. The world's gravity was weaker than Kamon was used to. He might have crossed the pale grey fields in giant leaps, but whenever he jumped a dust cloud would appear. The pain of the dust in his eyes was the only thing he could feel.

He called out, but no sound came out. When he stamped the ground, he made no noise.

That had been when Kamon realized he was dreaming. So he kept walking along the strange alien surface, waiting to wake up. He usually woke up soon after he realized he was dreaming, which was good. This dream was fairly boring; Kamon much preferred his recurring dream with the jetpack and the downhill skis. That was much more fun than walking along this strange, dead world with nobody around for miles…

A faint light glowed in the distance. Kamon raced towards it, using the world's light gravity to move faster. As he moved past rocks and small hills, the glow ahead became clear.

"Quil!" Theo turned to look at him.

"Theo?" Kamon was glad to see the Cyndaquil was here. He didn't like this dream very much, but it would be easier if someone was there with him. He felt at his belt for a Pokéball, but none were there. Maybe in this dream, he wasn't a trainer.

Kamon reached out to pet Theo, and that was when the voice called out.

_ "You are the tool that will bring this Cyndaquil to me. Train it. Evolve it. Befriend it. And then your work will be done."_

"What!?" Kamon felt at his head; it was pounding at the sound of the voice. He looked down at Theo in panic, but the Cyndaquil didn't seem to hear it. Maybe this was telepathy… being sent directly to Kamon's mind. If that was so, then that meant a psychic Pokémon was likely involved. But what kind of Pokémon would live in a world like this?

_"Train it. Evolve it. Befriend it."_ The strange creature's voice echoed in his head like a ringing church bell. Kamon thought his head might explode. He opened his mouth to scream…

Then he woke up.

He was covered in sweat, and he blinked in the sunlight. Theo and Walnut were both secure in their Pokéballs. Their campsite on Route 30 was undisturbed. Kamon looked up at the sun, and saw it was already high in the sky. He checked his Pokégear and saw it was well past 10:00 a.m. He rubbed his eyes.

That was strange… he never slept in this late. That dream must have been really intense. Kamon shivered slightly when he though back to it, but he shrugged it off. He'd forget the dream soon enough.

It was time to get back to work. Kamon released Theo and Walnut from their Pokéballs.

"Okay team, sorry for the late start." The two Pokémon were growing nicely, but Theo was clearly the stronger of the two. Walnut was still a new capture, and that meant he would need some extra training. "Our first Gym battle will be against Flying Pokémon. Neither of you can fly, so today we're going to work to cover that weakness. We're going to battle Ledyba this morning. Bug/Flying is a pretty common type, and it's something we should be prepared to fight."

Kamon got out his Pokédex and scanned for Ledyba.

"It says here Ledyba live near wildflowers. I think there were some patches of flowers by that lake we visited, so we should check there first. So let's – Walnut, _no!"_

The Sentret had found his way into Kamon's bag. He was rummaging through the different pockets, and now had an Antidote in his mouth. He was sucking on the nozzle.

"Those are only for when you've been poisoned!" Kamon frowned. "Spit that out!"

Instead Walnut swallowed it. Kamon thought the Sentret might choke, but he gulped down the entire bottle without difficulty. Then he smacked his lips and turned to Kamon smiling.

"Sentret!" he said happily.

Kamon sighed. There seemed to be no limit to what Walnut was willing to eat. Even worse, he seemed to prefer items that were traditionally nonedible. Maybe there was a Snorlax in his ancestry somewhere.

"At least Antidotes are cheap," Kamon sighed. "Doesn't that hurt at all?"

Walnut nuzzled up against Kamon's leg. Kamon had had the Sentret examined when he visited the Cherrygrove City Pokémon centre, after he'd first eaten the Apricorn. But the nurse had told him that Walnut was perfectly healthy, and digesting the Apricorn properly.

Still… eating an Apricorn was one thing. A form of medicine (and the bottle it came in) was something different.

"You're sure nothing's wrong?" Kamon asked. The Sentret shook his head.

"Alright, then. Let me know if your stomach starts to hurt. Until then, let's start training." Kamon recalled Theo and began walking through the grass with Walnut. They headed through the fields scanning the sky for any sight of Ledyba. Eventually Kamon saw a bulbous red dot in the sky. He pointed at it.

"There's one! Wow, they really don't camouflage well, do they? Let's get its attention, Walnut!"

Kamon grabbed a nearby stick and waved it in the air. The Ledyba saw the motion and moved towards them.

"Ba! Ba!" The Ledyba dove right at them.

"Walnut, go!" Kamon shouted. Walnut leapt forward with a loud cry.

"Use Scratch!" Kamon shouted. Walnut readied the attack while the Ledyba dove at him. He couldn't attack first – the bug Pokémon was too high in the air to reach. The Ledyba flew down and delivered a Tackle attack. Walnut responded with a Scratch attack, and the Ledyba was sent reeling. It crashed against the ground with the strength of the blow, and lay there dazed.

"We've almost got it!" Kamon cried. "Just one more Scratch should… do… the…" Kamon looked vacantly at the field. Walnut was gone.

"Where did you…?" Kamon looked around and saw Walnut was rooting through his bag. "Walnut, what are you _doing!?"_

Walnut took his head out of the bag and showed Kamon exactly what he was doing. He held a Potion in his mouth and he gave a great swallow. The Potion disappeared down his throat.

"Walnut you can't… that Ledyba barely hurt you! You didn't need healing, and that is NOT how you heal yourself anyway!" But Kamon knew that Walnut didn't need healing; the Sentret was just eager to eat whatever he could get his hands on. Eating Apricorns had been one thing… that was at least a form of food. But this was seriously unhealthy – Walnut seemed to want to eat anything that wasn't bolted down.

The Ledyba stared over at Kamon and his Sentret. Seeing they were distracted, it took the moment to flee back into the sky. Kamon called after it, but it didn't look back.

"Great," Kamon sighed. He examined the sun's positioning. "We probably won't see any more Ledyba today. They only come out in the early morning. We might as well end the training for today. If we walk all day and avoid wild Pokémon, we should reach Route 31. What do you think, Walnut?" Kamon looked down and saw Walnut was chewing on his bag's strap.

Kamon packed up his bag, taking great care to keep it out of Walnut's reach. Then he began walking north, with his moderately loyal Sentret following him.

They walked most of the day in silence, avoiding wild Pokémon. Sentret's Run Away ability helped with that, though Kamon made a mental note to pick up some Repels in Violet City. Kamon spent most of the time thinking about Walnut's strange eating patterns. Theo had never had trouble like that. In fact, the Cyndaquil now seemed like the model Pokémon. Kamon found himself with a new respect for the fire type; Theo really was a good Pokémon. At no point had he tried to eat plastic canisters.

Kamon wondered if it said anything that his standards for a "good Pokémon" were apparently very low. He decided not to think about that, and continued walking north until sunset.

Kamon must have misread the map; as they didn't reach Route 31 that day. They did make good time however, and Kamon finally stopped in a small clearing. Trees circled the area and small sticks littered the ground.

"Okay Walnut," Kamon said. "Battling was sort of a wash today, so we're going to try a different sort of training. We'll do some survival training. That should help build up some self-discipline in you, so maybe you'll stop trying to eat all my stuff."

Kamon turned his back to the Sentret and began unpacking his bag. "You'll run through the woods and gather up some sticks for a fire. I bought some canned fish from the Cherrygrove City market, and we're going to cook it over a fire Theo makes. It's bound to be healthier for you than eating plastic. You know, if you help pitch in throughout chores like this, I think you'll really become a valued member of the team and – _ow!"_

Walnut had bit Kamon's belt while the trainer's back was turned. Kamon felt the belt tug in the Sentret's tiny teeth, and then Walnut pulled away.

"Okay Walnut," Kamon rounded on him. "I've had just about enough of this. Now you're going to go get that firewood, or you won't be eating anything tonight. Not fish, not plastic, not…" The words died in his mouth when he saw what Walnut held in his mouth.

It was Theo's Pokéball. And Theo was still inside.

"Quil," Theo squeaked in confusion and fear. "Quillll…"

Kamon's voice went very quiet. "Walnut, you just crossed the line from annoying to sociopathic. That is my starter Pokémon. You will release him _right now."_

When Kamon moved towards Walnut to grab the ball, Walnut jumped back. He growled as though he knew Kamon was trying to take his new meal away. Kamon wondered what would happen if the release button was pressed while Walnut swallowed the Pokéball. Theo would emerge from the Pokéball… inside Walnut's throat. That was a mental image that Kamon could've done without.

"If you swallow that ball, Theo will die." Kamon stepped towards Walnut slowly. "And if he does, and you kill my starter, I'll sell you to some Team Rocket agents. Not the lovable kooky Team Rocket, the really nasty ones who kill Marowak mothers. Let Theo go. Right. Now."

Walnut cocked his head in confusion, and that was when Kamon grabbed at him.

The ball was covered in slobber, and that made it hard to get a grip. Walnut tried to swallow the ball when he saw what Kamon was doing, but all he managed to do was bite Kamon's hand. Kamon shouted in pain, but didn't let go of Theo. He wrenched the Pokéball free, and then pressed the release button. Theo appeared in a flash of light, no longer in danger of being eaten.

"Quil!" Theo squeaked in delight and ran over to Kamon. When his Cyndaquil jumped into his arms shaking in fright, Kamon felt the day's frustrations for the first time. The terrible dream, the day of wasted training, Walnut's strange new habit, and now Theo's brush with death.

Kamon turned to Walnut. "Do you know what you just did?"

Walnut cocked his head quizzically.

_"My first Pokémon was in there!"_ Kamon shouted. "You nearly killed my starter! If a trainer nearly killed Theo, do you know what I'd do to that trainer!?"

Now Walnut looked sad. He didn't seem to understand what he had done wrong, and that only made it worse.

"I've only had you on my team for a few days," Kamon said. He had to do this; there was no other option. "If you're going to threaten the life of my Pokémon, there's only one solution."

"Sen?" Walnut finally seemed to understand that his trainer was angry. Except Kamon wasn't Walnut's trainer anymore… and Walnut was no longer named Walnut.

"I'm releasing you," Kamon said. "Go back to Route 29, or stay here on Route 30. You're stronger than all the wild Pokémon on both routes and you have Theo and I to thank for that. Eat tree bark, eat Antidotes, eat the sidings of houses if that's what you feel like. But I won't let you threaten the life of my Pokémon."

"Sentret!" Walnut's eyes were tearing up. He understood what was happening now perfectly. It was a Pokémon's worse nightmare, and Kamon hated it as much as Walnut did. What kind of trainer had to release his first capture?

"The kind that protects his Pokémon," Kamon thought. There was only one official way to release a Pokémon; you needed to destroy their Pokéball. Kamon raised Walnut's Pokéball high above the ground. When he threw it against the exposed rocks on the ground, it would shatter into pieces. And it would break Kamon's connection to Walnut with it.

Kamon released his grip on the ball, and it fell to the ground.

"QUIL!" Theo leapt out of nowhere and caught the Pokéball in his mouth. He landed on the ground and rolled to a stop.

"Oh great," Kamon thought. "Walnut's little habit is contagious. Theo wants to eat everything in the world too."

Theo rounded on Kamon with the Pokéball perched in his mouth. He shook his tiny head fiercely.

"What do you… Theo, give me the Pokéball."

Theo squeaked in protest. It wasn't hard to figure out what he wanted.

"You don't want me to release Walnut?" Kamon sighed. "Theo, he tried to eat you. Sure he didn't mean to, but still, he's dangerous. I know he doesn't mean to hurt anyone, but that doesn't diminish the threat. I'm trying to protect you here."

"Quil!" Theo replied. His reply was muffled by the Pokéball in his mouth.

Kamon thought the situation over. Theo didn't want Kamon to release his new friend… but this friend might be dangerous. Kamon looked over at Walnut, who now looked like he understood perfectly what was going on. The Sentret's eyes were damp with tears. And Kamon suddenly felt terrible.

"Fine," Kamon sighed. "We can keep Walnut. But he's going to go find wood for the fire, and then he's going to eat fish with everyone else, like a normal Pokémon."

"Sen! Sentret!" Walnut promised.

Kamon sighed. He wondered if all the other Pokémon trainers had struggles like this.

Probably not.


	21. Chapter 21: Theo

"I'm really, really sorry I tried to eat you."

"That's okay," Theo said.

"I just… _I had no idea you were in there!_ You believe me, don't you!?"

Theo nodded politely. Walnut seemed sincere, but Theo was still having a hard time getting past what had happened. The Sentret had nearly killed him after all, and when Theo closed his eyes he could still picture Walnut's gigantic jaws, just about to close.

"We're still friends, aren't we?" Walnut asked.

"Of course," Theo said. He wasn't sure about that, though. Friends never ate friends.

Kamon was sleeping by the ruins of the campfire, and Theo and Walnut were talking quietly in their Pokéballs. Theo didn't want to hurt Walnut's feelings, but he sort of missed the quiet moments of the journey back when it was just Kamon and him. They would walk in silence for hours sometimes, nobody saying a thing. That was never the case with Walnut; he always had something to say, or a question about the Pokémon world.

Not to mention, Kamon had never tried to digest Theo when they were walking alone together. That was another perk.

Theo rolled over in his Pokéball. "Get some sleep, Walnut."

"I can't," Walnut said. "Pokéballs are uncomfortable."

"You get used to them," Theo replied. "They were designed for maximum Pokémon comfort."

"Then why are they round?" Walnut complained. "I can barely lie down in mine. Maybe we should switch Pokéballs?"

"You can't switch Pokéballs," Theo sighed. "They don't work that way. And trust me, my Pokéball is just as round as yours is. So lie down and go to sleep, because we have a long day's training tomorrow. I want to be well rested for-" Theo paused and looked over at his trainer. Kamon was shivering in his sleep. Theo had been on the road with Kamon for two weeks and he'd never noticed that before. As Theo stared at his trainer he saw something even stranger; the boy was muttering to himself.

"That's new," Theo whispered. He put his ear towards the edge of the Pokéball to better hear what Kamon was saying.

"Tra…Train," Kamon muttered. "Evolve. Befriend."

"What's he saying?" Walnut asked. Theo listened closer.

"Train. Evolve. Befriend. Train. Evolve. Befriend. Train. Evolve…."

Kamon suddenly thrashed to the side. Theo was about to release himself and wake up his owner, when Kamon jolted up. He scrambled out of his sleeping bag in a panic, before he remembered where he was. Then he turned to Walnut and Theo, who were looking at him with worried expressions.

"Sorry," Kamon said. He gave them an awkward wave, and Theo saw his hand was shaking. "Just a bad dream."

Kamon rolled over and went back to sleep. Soon Walnut did too. Theo did his best, but it would be several hours before he slept again.

The following morning Theo found he was paying for his lack of sleep. He could barely keep his eyes open as Kamon packed up their campsite and continued walking farther along Route 30. Luckily Kamon had decided Walnut needed more training, so the Sentret was walking beside him while Theo napped in his Pokéball.

Soon they came to a steep path. Theo remembered it well from their earlier trip to Mr. Pokémon's house. There had been trainers battling along the path, and Theo and Kamon hadn't been able to pass them. Those trainers were long gone now though, and the group climbed the path without trouble.

While nearing the top, they heard somebody shout at them from below. Theo turned his head and saw a boy younger than Kamon in shorts and a cap. The boy waved at Kamon and ran up the path to him.

"Can I help you?" Kamon asked.

"I just lost, so I'm trying to find more Pokémon." The boy took out a Pokéball and examined Walnut. "Wait! You look weak! Come on, let's battle!"

"I look weak, huh?" Kamon said. "Well you just lost a battle against someone, so I'm thinking you're not that good at judging other trainers' strength."

"Shut up!" said the kid. "Rattata, I choose you!"

A small purple rat appeared on the field. "Rat! Rat!" it cried.

Theo reflected that this Rattata was bigger than the one that kept attacking Kamon. Its teeth were filed sharply and it was well-muscled.

"Wait a second," Kamon said. "You just said you lost a battle! Why's your Rattata at full health?"

"That was a lie!" the kid said "It was to give you false confidence!"

"Well now I know you lied," Kamon said. "And you had to resort to tricking me to get an edge, so that tells me you're not very good. So now I have _real _confidence. Thanks for that."

The trainer swore loudly, and ordered his Rattata to attack.

"I don't need you for this," Kamon said to Theo. "Walnut needs the experience more than you do."

Theo was disappointed. This would have been his and Kamon's first real trainer battle. The battle against Totodile and that thief didn't count; there had been all that drama and Theo had barely followed orders. Theo hoped that wasn't affecting Kamon's decisions now. Did Kamon distrust Theo because he disobeyed during the battle against Totodile? Sure Kamon still used the Cyndaquil against wild Pokémon, but now he had Walnut as well. Theo fretted in his Pokéball as Walnut and the Rattata faced each other across the ledge.

"Walnut, use Scratch!" Kamon shouted. Walnut raced towards Rattata and raised his paw. His claws gleamed in the morning sunlight.

"Rattata, Quick Attack!" The Rattata ran straight for Sentret, faster than Theo imagined was possible. He rammed against the larger Pokémon and sent him falling back.

"Sen…" Walnut wasn't too badly hurt, but he seemed frightened by the strange attack. He began to pace away from Rattata.

"Of course," Theo thought. "He lived on Route 29, so he's never seen attacks like this." Now Walnut was edging farther away from the Rattata. He looked willing to abandon the battle entirely… and he had his eye on the Pokégear in Kamon's bag.

"Oh no," Theo thought. "Don't do that. Please Walnut, just leave it alone and keep fighting." Theo had managed to convince Kamon not to abandon Walnut once before. He wasn't sure he could do it again, especially if Walnut ruined a trainer battle and ate Kamon's Pokégear.

In that moment Theo knew he had to do something. He was the starter Pokémon, and he'd always thought that simply meant he had a special bond with his trainer. Growing up in the lab with Chikorita and Totodile, all they talked about was how close they would become with their trainers. But watching Walnut lose made Theo realize something different about starters. They weren't just their trainer's favourite; they were responsible for protecting the team. The younger Pokémon were their responsibility.

"Rattata, Tackle!" the trainer shouted. Rattata ran towards Walnut again, and Walnut looked terrified. Theo had to make a decision soon. Walnut was turning towards the Pokégear…

"QUIL!" Theo released himself from the Pokéball in a flash of light. He ran towards the Rattata, and placed himself between it and Walnut. The Tackle hit him in the stomach, but he had braced himself and he was able to endure it.

"Hey!" the other trainer shouted. "What are you doing!? Two against one is unfair!"

"I'm… switching out, I guess." Kamon recalled Walnut, and the Sentret looked happy to return to his Pokéball. "Okay Theo, use Ember!"

"Rattata, Quick Attack!" the other trainer shouted.

Theo felt the flames heat up in his mouth. Rattata jumped towards him, even faster this time. The purple rat connected with Theo, and the fire type struggled to stand his ground. Then he released his flames with an angry cry, and hot sparks flew at Rattata.

"RATTTT!" The Rattata fell against the ground and didn't get up again. It had fainted.

"Oh…" the other trainer said. "I'm all out of Pokémon that can fight." He took a few small bills out of an old wallet, and handed them to Kamon. "Here you go. My parents keep me on a pretty tight allowance, so that's all I have…"

"Don't worry about it," Kamon said. He gave Theo a congratulatory pat on the head and then took the money.

"Hey, can I get your number?" the trainer said. "I'll ring you up to battle!"

"What?" Kamon looked confused. "Look, I don't even know your name, and frankly, the battle wasn't that challenging."

"My name's Joey!" said the trainer. "And I know that Rattata and I will get stronger. We're going to catch more Pokémon too! I've always wanted a Dragonite!"

"Dragonite, huh?" Kamon looked dubious. "Well, good luck with that."

"So can I have your number?" Joey asked. "Please?"

Kamon sighed, and gave Joey a number that Theo knew belonged to someone else. He was pretty sure it was the phone number for the New Bark Town pizza parlour.

"Thanks!" Joey said, as he keyed the number into his Pokégear. "I'll call you soon!"

"I bet you will." Kamon smiled faintly and waved goodbye. They continued along the path, leaving Joey behind them.

When they were a safe distance away, Kamon stopped and looked down at Theo.

"We need to talk about the battle back there," Kamon said.

Theo gulped. Kamon had already come very close to releasing Walnut. Was he about to do the same to his starter?

"I wanted to thank you," Kamon said. "Walnut clearly wasn't ready for a trainer battle. I should have seen that, but I didn't. That's the second trainer in a row where you knew better than me what to do." Kamon laughed. "Maybe I should be the one in the Pokéball."

Theo couldn't help but smile at the image of that.

"Anyway, I wanted to thank you," Kamon said. "As far as starters go, you could've been a lot worse."

It was the first compliment Theo had ever received from his trainer… or the closest thing to a compliment anyway. The Cyndaquil squeaked in delight.

His spirits improved considerably, Theo happily followed his trainer along the path.


	22. Chapter 22: Totodile

Dark Cave had been named by a person with terrible imagination.

It was sure honest about things though. The cave was very… well, very dark. There wasn't much else to say about it; because there wasn't much else you could see. Totodile could barely see the end of his snout, so he had no idea how large the cave was or what Pokémon might live in it. To make matters worse, Dark Cave's floor was jagged and uneven. Totodile had already hurt his foot once walking through the cave, and he nearly fell down a five foot ledge.

Totodile would have tried to convince his master to go find the Flash TM and return later, but Silver wouldn't have it. He was convinced that there were rare items in the cave, and he was afraid that if he left somebody else might find them first.

"Dile," Totodile sighed dejectedly. This sure wasn't how he pictured his Pokémon journey going.

"Quiet!" Silver muttered. "We're trying to avoid the wild Pokémon, not reach out and befriend them like a couple of idiots. What did you think I bought the Repels for? They don't work if you're loud!"

Totodile looked to the ground in shame. His trainer was a thief and Totodile couldn't even keep him happy. He didn't know what happened when Silver got angry, but he was sure he didn't want to find out. He thought faintly of Chikorita, probably still back at Professor Elm's lab. She was the lucky one.

Well, the _really _lucky one was Cyndaquil, or "Theo" as he went by now. The little urchin had stolen Totodile's rightful trainer. When they'd finally met up in Cherrygrove, Totodile had assumed that Kamon would take his rightful Pokémon back. Maybe he could exchange Theo to Silver… the two criminals could bond together. But Kamon hadn't even recognized Totodile, and he seemed to be happy with his stupid Cyndaquil.

"I could have carried him across water," Totodile thought. "I could've broken apart whirlpools for him. I could've climbed waterfalls, for Arceus' sake. But now I'm stuck in this stupid cave, with a self-obsessed criminal, looking for-"

"BAAAAATTTT!" A screech from above interrupted Totodile's thoughts. Totodile scanned the ceiling above, but saw only faint, moving shadows.

"Great, it's a Zubat," Silver snarled. "The first of ten thousand, no doubt. Nice going Totodile, your noise earlier must have drawn it to us." He kicked at the air, and Totodile flinched away.

"Come to think of it, Poison/Flying is kind of a unique type," Silver said. "And Flying types are always useful. We might as well catch it."

Totodile scanned the cave ceiling desperately. Catch the Zubat? He couldn't even find it.

"Totodile, use Water Gun!" Silver commanded. Totodile looked to the ceiling. He thought he saw a blackish shadow that might've been Zubat… but it might've been a stalactite too.

The black shadow moved. No stalactite did that.

"Dile!" Totodile unleashed a stream of water from his mouth. The black shadow moved away, and Totodile's attack missed.

"Did you hit it!?" Silver shouted. "Where did it go!?"

The shadowed Zubat had disappeared into the darkness again. The cave went silent. Totodile relaxed for a moment, thinking the Zubat had flown away. If the alternative was becoming Silver's Pokémon, then fleeing was certainly the smart choice.

The Zubat flew out of the darkness, and straight at Totodile. His fangs locked onto Totodile's arm, and Totodile could feel his life's energy draining. Zubat had hit him with a Leech Life.

Then the Zubat flew back into the shadows of Dark Cave. Totodile fell to his knees. The attack had left him dizzy, but he shook it off.

"Come back out here, you coward!" Silver shouted at the darkness. "What kind of Pokémon hides in the shadows!?"

"A smart one," Totodile thought. Being one of Silver's Pokémon was a fate he wouldn't wish on anybody… well, except the Cyndaquil, of course.

But wait… Totodile was part of this capture too. He knew the fate awaiting this Zubat better than anyone. And yet he was still obeying Silver's orders to attack the poor thing.

Well that was going to change right now.

"I think I see it!" Silver shouted. He took a Pokéball in his hand. "Pokéball, go!"

Totodile decided not to tell his master that he'd mistaken a pile of wild mushrooms for the Zubat. The ball bounced harmlessly off the mushrooms, and Silver cursed loudly.

At that moment, the Zubat flew out from the darkness again. His little fangs were glowing a faint green. Then he bit Totodile on the arm again, making the water type cry out in pain.

It had been another Leech Life attack. Totodile wasn't sure how many more of those he could take.

"There it is!" Silver cried. "Totodile, use Water Gun!"

Totodile did no such thing. The Zubat braced for the attack, and looked confused when nothing happened. Then he darted back into the darkness.

"What is your _problem!?"_ Silver cried. "The Zubat was right there!" Totodile tried not to look at his master. He knew what was coming now.

They were interrupted by the sound of the Zubat's wings beating. He was still close.

"Follow that thing," Silver commanded. "Hit it with a Scratch. That is a direct order."

Totodile turned away. If he condemned another Pokémon to the life he had with Silver, he couldn't live with himself.

Again, the stupid thieving Cyndaquil excluded.

"Fine!" Silver shouted. "I'll capture this thing myself!" He felt around blindly on the pitch black ground, until he located a sizable rock. He picked the rock up.

"Come over here, you stupid Zubat! I've got a surprise for you!"

Totodile's face paled. Silver wouldn't… he couldn't really mean to…

"I hear flying types are weak against rock!" Silver shouted. "Want to test that out!?"

A moment later, the Zubat came flying at them. He was still aiming for Totodile, as though the water type was still the real threat. He hadn't even noticed Silver yet.

"I use Rock Throw!" Silver called out from behind them. He aimed the rock at the approaching Zubat, and released it. "It's super effective!"

Totodile only had this one chance. No matter what, he couldn't let Zubat get its head knocked in by Silver's rock. The rock was bigger than Zubat's whole body, for Arceus' sake! Most Pokémon knew enough to moderate their attacks so their opponents wouldn't be seriously hurt, but Totodile didn't think his trainer had this concern.

Seconds before the rock connected with Zubat, Totodile knocked the bat Pokémon out of the air with a Water Gun.

"Zuuuu….bat." Zubat crashed against the ground weakened. The rock sailed past where Zubat had been moments ago. It landed somewhere in the darkness beyond them with a loud crash.

"It's weakened!" Silver shoved past Totodile. "Let's do this!" He released another Pokéball at the Zubat. The bat Pokémon disappeared in a flash of light – the first light Totodile had seen all day. Zubat struggled in the ball once… twice… a third time…

And that was it. Zubat had been caught.

"What did I do!?" Totodile thought. "I saved that Zubat's life… the rock could've killed it, but… what did I just _do!?"_

Totodile put his face in his claws. He may have saved the Zubat's life, but a life with Silver wasn't that much better.

"I've condemned this Zubat to a life with a horrible trainer!" Totodile cried. "I'm just as bad as that Cyndaquil!"

The realization sickened him. Sure Totodile had his reasons for what he did… but so did Theo the Cyndaquil, no doubt.

"I can't be here," he thought, as Silver picked up his Pokéball to examine his first capture. "I can't deal with this, I… I have to get out of here."

Totodile turned around, and ran blindly into the darkness.

"Hey!" Silver said, when he noticed. "Totodile, get back here!"

Totodile kept running. He didn't want to look at his master. He didn't want to look at himself. He just wanted to hide from the world and leave his horrible, awful trainer behind…

Suddenly the ground beneath him was gone.

Totodile fell eight feet to the ground below. He never even saw where the ground had ended. He was just suddenly falling; his body tumbling in the air.

Then he hit the ground with a loud smack. His entire body was jolted, and he ached all over. Nothing seemed broken, but his left paw felt sprained.

"Totodile?" Silver's voice echoed faintly from the upper level of the cave. "What just happened? Are you still alive?"

Totodile couldn't leave this poor Zubat to face Silver alone. "Dile," he sighed reluctantly.

"Fine," Silver said. "You sound like you're hurt. I'm not going to heal you, just so you know. Maybe that'll teach you not to race around blindly in pitch black caves."

"Toto… di… dile." Totodile gritted his teeth and noticed he had chipped a couple of them in the fall. He shouldn't even be here! He belonged with Kamon, that normal trainer who didn't put his Pokémon in danger, and refuse to heal them, and nearly bash a Zubat's brains in with a rock!

"It's all that Cyndaquil's fault," Totodile muttered. "Well I'll run into him sooner or later. Johto's only so big. And when I find him, I'm going to make him pay."

Sitting alone and wounded in the darkness, Totodile began to smile.


	23. Chapter 23: Walnut

Walnut felt that things just hadn't been the same since he'd nearly eaten Kamon's starter.

It had all been a colossal misunderstanding. Kamon had five Pokéballs on his belt, and by sheer bad luck Walnut happened to grab the one that wasn't empty. Then the craving had really set in… the thought of eating the delicious, delicious Pokéball. The ball looked just like an apple, and Walnut had imagined it was just as crunchy.

He hadn't even noticed what Kamon and Theo were shouting until Kamon grabbed the Pokéball from his mouth. Even then it was a few seconds before Walnut realized what he'd nearly done. He'd been just seconds away from swallowing the Pokéball… with Theo inside.

After that, Walnut had done everything he could to apologize. Theo seemed to forgive him, and Kamon didn't say much about the whole situation, but Walnut could tell that their opinions of him had changed.

He wasn't trusted in trainer battles anymore – Kamon would barely keep him out for two turns before switching off to Theo. And then there was that business with Kamon almost releasing him. Sometimes Walnut saw a look in Kamon's eye while they were training that suggested the boy wished he had gone through with it.

The problem was that Walnut just couldn't control the hunger. For whatever reason his stomach was great at digesting things; he'd eaten copper, plastic, wood, and even iron (though the iron gave him indigestion). When he saw the delicious plastic casing of a Potion, he couldn't help himself. Even in a battle, he had to find a meal.

It hadn't been so bad on Route 29. The route consisted mostly of plants, and the strangest things Walnut ate there were a few Apricorns. The other Sentrets looked at him strangely whenever he did this, but he didn't mind.

Now things were harder. He had a trainer now, and certain responsibilities came with that. So he had to try to control the hunger… but it got so difficult when it would start calling out to him.

Walnut followed Kamon along Route 30 in silence. Kamon had said they would reach Dark Cave later that day, and Walnut was excited for that. He'd heard scary stories about monsters living in Dark Cave, and he wanted to see the scary pitch blackness for himself. Of course Walnut's smaller and more shameful reason for wanting to visit Dark Cave was that he might be able to eat some of Kamon's supplies in secret.

"No," he growled. "You have to stop doing that."

Up ahead, Kamon had spotted a boy standing in the grass with a large net.

"Hey look, I think he's a trainer." Kamon turned to Sentret. "He probably trains bug types, so I'm going to switch you out for Theo. Walnut, retu-"

"Sen!" Walnut protested. "Sentret!"

"What's wrong with you?" Kamon asked. "You don't need healing. Don't tell me you want more food?"

Walnut shook his head. He pointed at his Pokéball and growled at it.

"Well you can't eat that. You'd just… oh, I get it. You want to fight this bug catcher!"

Walnut nodded enthusiastically. "Sen! Sen!"

"I don't know…" Kamon said. "After what happened with Theo and all, I just don't know if I can trust you. A trainer battle's important. It's no time to screw things up."

Walnut gave Kamon his most pitiful gaze. It was the expression he'd used as a wild Pokémon to coax food from travellers.

"Fine," Kamon said. "You can fight in this battle, just stop making that face. It's really creeping me out."

Walnut stopped making that face, and happily followed Kamon towards the bug catcher.

The trainer turned towards Kamon in surprise. "Instead of a bug Pokémon, I found a Trainer!" He took out a Pokéball. "Let's battle!"

Kamon nodded, and motioned to Walnut. The Sentret raced out in front of him, looking determined.

"Go, Caterpie!" The bug catcher threw a Pokéball and a small green worm appeared.

"Piiiiiieeee!" The Caterpie wriggled around on the ground happily.

"Walnut, use Scratch!" Kamon shouted.

"Caterpie, use String Shot!" the bug catcher replied.

Walnut raced towards the Caterpie and raked him with his claws. The Caterpie fell to the ground, but then rolled over and sprayed Walnut with a gooey white string. The string made Walnut trip and tumble to the ground. He could now barely run at all.

"Another String Shot!" the bug catcher shouted.

"Use Scratch again!" Kamon ordered.

Walnut moved for Caterpie, but was caught up by the sticky string. Caterpie fired another String Shot, and Walnut's tail became stuck to the ground. Walnut managed to wrench it free, and he tumbled towards Caterpie as a gooey, string-covered mess. By sheer luck the Scratch connected, and Caterpie was knocked out.

"Nice job, Walnut!" Kamon said.

Walnut was proud of himself. He'd never beaten a trainer's Pokémon all by himself before. It had been tricky though… he was now covered head to toe in thick, white string. He looked like a furry marshmallow.

_ Marshmallows… _Walnut felt his thoughts begin to wander.

He wondered if Kamon's running shoes tasted anything like marshmallows. They were white, and they were made of skooshy fabric. He bet they would taste delicious, and he'd be extra careful not to bite his trainer's foot.

In a food-induced haze, Walnut began to waddle towards his trainer.

"I'm not done yet!" the bug catcher said. "Go, Caterpie!"

Another green worm appeared on the field. It wriggled in glee. "Piiiieeeeeeeee!"

Walnut barely heard the cheerful Caterpie. He continued to trudge towards his trainer, focused entirely on his delicious white shoes. They barely had any grass stains on them. Walnut licked his lips.

"What are you doing!?" Kamon cried. "Why are you looking at me like that… Walnut, look behind you!"

Walnut didn't pay any attention, and the Caterpie's String Shot hit him full force. He was now almost completely stuck to the ground. He rounded on the Caterpie in a haze, and was just barely able to knock it back with a Scratch.

Walnut wriggled around and found he could barely move. The Caterpie was preparing another attack, but Walnut found he barely cared. He was just so hungry, but the shoes would fill him… the delicious shoes…

Suddenly he had an idea. He couldn't eat the shoes, the fading part of his rational mind knew that, but he could eat something else nearby that was delicious, chewy and white.

Walnut began to gnaw on the strings covering his body. He ate quickly, and the thin white webbings disappeared from his legs and tail. Some remained, but he was now at least able to move around properly. And best of all that horrible hunger was dying down.

"What the… he can't do that!" the bug catcher cried.

Kamon shrugged. "I didn't think he could either. I thought he was going to eat my shoes."

"Caterpie, Tackle!" the bug catcher cried.

The worm raced towards Walnut. It was still faster than him because of the leftover webbings. But Walnut ran at the bug type with another Scratch, and when the attacks connected Caterpie went flying backwards. It landed against the ground with a soft cry.

"Nice going, Walnut!" Kamon cheered.

"Argh!" the bug catcher cried. "You're too strong! That was a nice trick with the webbing, though."

"Er… thanks?" Kamon said. "It was Walnut's idea, really."

The bug catcher gave Kamon some money, and bid him goodbye. After Kamon left, he looked to Walnut.

"You were pretty useful back there," he said. "I was surprised… and kind of impressed."

Kamon looked like the compliment had caused him physical pain. Still, he moved to awkwardly pat Walnut on the head.

Walnut sighed happily. Everything was going to work out. He'd won a battle for his trainer. They were making good time on their journey. And the hunger was gone… at least for now.

Walnut sighed contentedly, and followed his trainer north.


	24. Chapter 24: Chimer

The Bellsprout watched the young trainer approaching.

"I could take you out in thirty seconds," she thought.

The trainer had a Sentret following at his feet, and Bellsprout knew that those things were always wimps. You could take them out with your eyes closed. They had Run Away as an ability, for Arceus' sake. They were practically asking you to smack them in the face.

"Since you've asked," Bellsprout thought. "I'm happy to help out." She had no problem whatsoever delivering a beat-down to a naive trainer from some backwater dump like Cherrygrove City or New Bark Town. They were always the same; a youngster or a bug catcher with a Rattata for a starter (or something even worse) who thought they had it in them to become Champion. More often than not, they wouldn't even make it past the first gym.

This trainer was just another one of those arrogant newbies. He thought he was something special, but he wasn't. Bellsprout was going to take down his little Sentret, and then she'd wipe out any other pitiful Pokémon that he'd try to throw at her.

This trainer was about to learn how things went down in the real world. And he wasn't going to like it.

Bellsprout shuffled closer to the trainer. When he was just five feet away, Bellsprout leapt out and gave the boy her fiercest glare.

"Bell!" she cried menacingly. "Bell! Bell!"

The trainer laughed. "Hey look Walnut, it's a Bellsprout! I've never seen one up close before!"

"That's right," Bellsprout smirked. "Embrace the fear you little twit, because-"

"It's so _weird_ looking," the trainer continued. "Look at its spindly legs!"

Bellsprout snarled. She took a few steps towards the trainer, and he began to laugh.

"Look at it walk!" the trainer cried. "This is just too funny! Okay Walnut, we have to catch this thing!"

Bellsprout bristled at that. Plenty of trainers had tried to catch her in the past, and she sent them all crying back to the Violet City Pokémon Centre. She was happy to take out this upstart and his stupid little Sentret.

The Sentret raced towards her. "Hello!" he said. "My name's Walnut, and it looks like we're going to be on a team together!"

"Looks that way," Bellsprout snarled. "Unless of course I wrap you up in my vines and throw you in your stupid trainer's face."

Walnut the Sentret grimaced. "Yeah, but that's probably not going to happen. I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but you're kind of small. Look at your legs… I could knock you over with one swipe of my tail." He wagged his tail for effect.

"Oh it's _on_ now!" Bellsprout cried. "I am going to shove my vines right in your-"

"Walnut, Quick Attack!" the trainer ordered. Almost as soon as the words were spoken, the tiny, chubby Sentret had started to move. He was darting towards Bellsprout faster than the grass type could've imagined.

"How does it move like that!?" That was all Bellsprout had time to think before the attack connected. It hit her in the gut, and knocked the wind right out of her. She went tumbling through the air and landed on her back.

"Bell…" she muttered weakly. How could that stupid chubby little Sentret deal that much damage? She got to her feet slowly, and delivered a Vine Whip. A long green vine appeared out of her mouth, and she swung it at the Sentret. The attack struck Walnut in the face, but he shook it off.

"It already looks pretty weak," Kamon said. "Let's try a Pokéball!"

"I'm not weak!" Bellsprout protested. But she found herself with more urgent concerns – namely the red and white Pokéball flying straight at her. Bellsprout turned and ran, but she tripped over her feet and the Pokéball opened. She disappeared in a flash of light.

"NO!" Bellsprout cried. She began to struggle around inside the ball. "You can't do this! I don't want to train with you, you stupid worthless piece of Grimer gunk!"

She struggled in the ball once, twice, a third time… and the ball made a soft 'ding' noise. She had been captured.

Bellsprout wasn't ready to give up yet. She continued to attack the ball with her vines, rolling around and cursing her new trainer. Some Pokémon said that they felt automatic loyalty to their trainer as soon as they were captured, but Bellsprout didn't feel any of that. She hated her trainer and his stupid little Sentret too.

Then the trainer appeared above her. He looked much larger now that she was in the Pokéball. He reached over and pressed a button on the Pokéball. Bellsprout was released again.

"Hi there," the trainer said. "My name's Kamon and I'll be your trainer now."

"Want to bet!?" Bellsprout growled.

"I'm going to call you Chimer," Kamon said. "That's kind of a nice name."

"It's a stupid name, thought up by a stupid person who stupidly thinks he has control over me!" Bellsprout a.k.a. Not Chimer released a Vine Whip at Kamon's face. She struck him just above the eye.

"Ow!" Kamon cried. He felt at his forehead. "I think you broke skin!"

"I'll break more than that!" Not Chimer fumed. "Now release me this second, or I will-"

"Hi there!" The dumb-looking Sentret scurried up to her. "My name's Walnut. I told you we'd be on a team soon!"

"Go jump in a lake," Not Chimer replied. "Choose a lake with plenty of Gyarados."

"You know, you really shouldn't attack our trainer like that," Walnut said. "We're all part of the same team, and things will go smoother if we all just get along. I know what it's like to make mistakes as a new Pokémon, and you want to avoid it if you can."

Not Chimer turned and delivered a Vine Whip to Walnut. He rolled to the side to avoid it.

"Why should I help this trainer!?" the Bellsprout demanded. "He doesn't mean anything to me!"

"Well he should," Walnut said. "He's the one who decides when you get healed and fed."

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light. Not Chimer blinked, and found she was back in her Pokéball. Kamon was looking down at her sternly.

"I was going to heal you now," Kamon said. "But if you'd rather smack everyone in the face, you can just wait until we reach Violet City. Maybe you'll have cooled down by then."

"I'll wait," Not Chimer muttered to herself. "I'll let you heal me. Even train me if you want. And then I'll take you out, and the rest of your stupid little Pokémon."

Not Chimer began to laugh.


	25. Chapter 25: Kamon

"Train it. Evolve it. Befriend it."

"Shut up," Kamon thought. He tried to speak, but the dream world blocked out all sound. He would've used Theo or Walnut on the mysterious voice, but in this dream his Pokémon were missing again. It was just as well; he'd never even seen the mystery Pokémon before. He thought it might be a psychic type, but there was something different about it. Not that Kamon was any expert on psychic types, but this creature seemed more sinister than other psychics. Its powers were something else entirely; maybe a dark or ghost type.

"Train it. Evolve it. Befriend it."

"Befriend what!?" Kamon shouted. No noise came out, but that didn't stop him from shouting. "What do you want from me!? Befriend what!? Befriend-"

He jolted awake. "…what?"

Theo raced over to his trainer in concern. Kamon sighed and sat back as he surveyed the campsite. It was just past five in the morning, and he could hear Ledyba beginning to stir somewhere in the forest. It was dark out, but there were the faintest rays of sunrise to the east. Normally Kamon would have gone back to sleep for another couple hours, but after that dream Kamon was sure his sleeping for the night was done.

Theo nuzzled up against Kamon and Kamon petted him absent-mindedly. These dreams were happening more often now… twice in the last week. But when had they started? Was it some kind of trauma from his encounter with that Pokémon thief Silver? Kamon didn't think so; Silver had never been any real threat to him or Theo. He was mostly just annoying.

Then another thought occurred to Kamon. What if he wasn't the only one getting the dreams? Maybe other nearby travellers had the dreams too, or maybe the dreams happened to people in New Bark Town. If they were caused by a Pokémon, there was no reason that Pokémon would target only Kamon.

Kamon pulled out his Pokégear and scrolled through the list of numbers. He considered calling his mom, but telling her about the dreams would just make her worry. He would've called Lyra, but he didn't have her number in his phone (which was kind of a letdown). He would've called somebody nearby on Route 31, but he didn't know anybody in the region.

In the end, Kamon decided to try Professor Elm. The professor might be able to identify the strange creature if Kamon described it to him. Kamon selected Elm's number and made the call.

The professor picked up the phone on the first ring. "Hello, Kamon?"

"Good morning, Professor Elm." Kamon would have worried about calling the professor this early, but he knew Elm was an early riser. The professor rarely slept more than five hours a night, and Kamon would often see him next door in his lab, working on his research hours before the sun came up.

"How's it going?" Kamon asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Well, we're checking the egg now. It does appear to be a Pokémon Egg."

"Ah… right." Kamon began to fidget. Of course Professor Elm thought he was calling about the egg – the egg that Kamon had broken and replaced without the professor's knowledge. This wasn't exactly helping Kamon's nerves.

"We'll do a few more tests!" Professor Elm said. "It might be something special, who knows?"

"Right," Kamon said. "So there isn't anything… strange, or unusual about the egg?"

"Not that we can see," Professor Elm said. "But we'll know more after our tests are finished."

"Fine," Kamon sighed. "There is one more thing. I was wondering if you know anything about Pokémon that communicate through dreams."

"Hmmm," Professor Elm thought for a moment. "There's the psychic move Dream Eater of course, as well as the lesser known Nightmare. Any psychic type might use them to communicate, though Drowzee and Hypno are best known for it. Another form of communication is the Bad Dreams ability, but that isn't-"

"This was something different," Kamon said. "It wasn't just some Drowzee or Hypno."

"A psychic Pokémon's been troubling you then?" Professor Elm asked. "If it's only happened the once, it's possible you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes young psychic Pokémon broadcast their power to anyone nearby. They don't learn to control their power until later in life."

"No, this one knew what it was doing." Kamon shivered as he thought back to the dreams. "It's been contacting me for a few days now. It showed me an image of Theo; it knows something about me."

"That is strange," Professor Elm admitted. "Maybe it wants you to battle it?"

"No, I don't think that's it," Kamon said. "And I'm not sure it was a psychic type at all. Do any other Pokémon contact people in dreams?"

"Ghost types do," Professor Elm admitted. "They usually don't have a person's best interests at heart, though. A few Dark types have been known to do that as well, but they're less common in Johto."

"And you haven't heard any reports about a powerful ghost or dark type?" Kamon asked. If anyone would know, it would be a researcher like Professor Elm.

"I can't think of anything," Professor Elm said. "Say, maybe this has something to do with Dark Cave. Some strange Pokémon have been known to live there, and I believe some of those Pokémon include psychic types. Didn't you say you were close to Dark Cave? It might be worth investigating."

"Yeah," Kamon said. "I'll look into that." He bid Professor Elm goodbye and hung up the Pokégear.

As he was placing the Pokégear back inside his bag, Kamon's fingers brushed his spare Pokéballs. Then he had another idea. He'd been so preoccupied with learning what other humans knew about the dreams, that he didn't consider the most likely source.

Kamon looked down at Theo, who was still sitting at his feet obediently and waiting for further instructions.

"Theo, this is going to sound strange." Kamon cleared his throat. "But you haven't had any strange dreams lately, have you? Dreams about another world, or… some kind of psychic Pokémon?"

Theo looked at Kamon quizzically. He shook his head.

"Noh, huh?" Kamon decided to try a different angle. "You haven't seen a wild Pokémon following us, have you? A psychic, ghost or dark type?"

Theo shook his head again.

"Alright," Kamon sighed. "There's one other angle we haven't tried. We'll head to Dark Cave and see if that has anything to do with this Pokémon. Who knows, maybe it wants us to go there."

Kamon began to walk along the dark path, with Theo lighting the woods around them. As Kamon walked, he felt his worries from the night begin to disappear. Maybe these dreams were just that… dreams. They might be caused by the stress of him starting his new journey. They might not be anything at all.

He was sure wrong about that.


	26. Chapter 26: Walnut

Kamon walked right into a stalagmite.

He grabbed his foot and held it in the air, cursing loudly. Then he lost his balance and fell to the floor. He collided with another stalagmite. This led to louder, more graphic cursing.

Walnut reflected that this was the third time his trainer had done this since entering Dark Cave.

"This is the worst place in the world," Kamon groaned. "And I'm saying this as someone who lived in New Bark Town for ten years."

Walnut didn't even understand why they were here in the first place. Their destination was Violet City, and this cave was off the path that would take them there. But Kamon had seemed determined that they explore the inky black cave. Maybe he was looking for rare items here.

Walnut's stomach began to growl at the thought of that. He felt around on the ground and grabbed a pebble. He nibbled on it happily. Rocks weren't nearly as delicious as Pokéballs (the paint coating gave them a certain kick) but they still tasted great. Best of all, they were all-natural.

Based on his trainer's cry of pain behind him, Walnut guessed that he had tripped over another rock. As a Sentret he had excellent night vision, so Dark Cave wasn't giving Walnut too much trouble. He couldn't say the same for his trainer.

"We're going to get ourselves killed doing this." Kamon felt his way over to Walnut. "Or I am, at least. Stand back Walnut, I'm going to let everyone else out."

Walnut had mixed feelings about that. He certainly liked Theo; the Cyndaquil had been remarkably understanding about the time Walnut nearly ate him. But the newest teammate wasn't so pleasant; that Bellsprout named Chimer. Walnut had assumed he would like her (her head looked like a delicious yellow pear) but whenever she opened her mouth it was to criticize or insult him. She wasn't very nice to Theo or his trainer either.

Theo appeared in a flash of light, and he squeaked in happiness. His flames produced a tiny glow, but not one large enough to navigate. When Kamon had first entered Dark Cave he had tried to illuminate the cave using Theo's flames, but that had somehow gotten them waist deep into an underground lake. Since then, Walnut had taken over navigation duties. At least he could see where he was going, even if Kamon couldn't.

Chimer appeared next, in another burst of light. She cried out in protest when she saw how dark it was, and she tumbled back. She fell to the ground, very narrowly avoiding landing on Theo's flaming back. She immediately got back to her feet, glaring at Theo as though the mess was his fault.

"Okay everyone, listen up!" Kamon waved his hands so they could all see him in the darkness. "We're looking for some – ow!"

Walnut's fur bristled. Chimer had just smacked Kamon in the leg with a Vine Whip.

"Chimer, knock it off!" Kamon ordered. When Chimer readied another Vine Whip, Walnut prepared to race forward…

But Theo arrived first. He used Tackle on Chimer and knocked her backwards again. Then he pinned her against the ground. He was growling – Walnut had never heard Theo growl before.

"Nice work Theo," Kamon said. "I… er… I appreciate it. But we'll actually need every member of the team active right now. And that includes Chimer."

Kamon stared over the Bellsprout, who was only faintly illuminated from Theo's flames.

"So Chimer, are you going to behave?"

Chimer nodded reluctantly.

"Good. Theo, let her up."

Theo quickly released Chimer and scurried over to Kamon's side. Not for the first time Walnut remembered that Kamon had been training Theo quite a bit longer than he had Walnut or Chimer.

"Okay, here's the plan," Kamon said. "I'm going to release all of you-"

Theo squeaked in fear.

"Wait, poor choice of words!" Kamon stammered. "I meant 'release you' as in let you roam free for the next little while. Not 'release you' as in stop training you and leaving you in the wild. Nobody's getting released… at least, not in that way."

Theo calmed down.

"We're all going to be exploring Dark Cave," Kamon said. "I thought I could find what we were looking for by myself, but I was wrong. Walnut can see in the dark and Theo can light his path with the flames on his back. Chimer can… well, Chimer can do something, I'm sure. So I need help from all of you."

Walnut scurried closer. Things were getting interesting.

"We're looking for a psychic Pokémon," Kamon said. "We're also looking for ghost types, and maybe dark types too. Any Pokémon with the moves Dream Eater or Nightmare. Professor Elm said there might be psychic types in this cave, but I can't find them in this darkness. I need all of your help."

Chimer didn't look up for helping, and said something very rude to Kamon in Pokéspeak. Fortunately Kamon didn't understand her, and Theo was focused on his new orders.

"So everybody split up!" Kamon said. "We'll cover more ground that way. Yell if you get into trouble."

With that the Pokémon split up; each of them heading in different directions. Theo headed north to the farthest stretch of the cave. Chimer headed east, and promptly found herself blocked off by a steep cave wall. Walnut headed south, back to the underground lake they'd visited earlier. Kamon began to head west, back towards the cave entrance.

Sound carried easily in the cave, and the team could keep in contact. Every now and again Kamon would give an order, or somebody would find and battle a wild Pokémon. Walnut was the only one who could see properly in the dark, and he noticed the cave wasn't all that large to begin with. It extended further to the east, but that was up beyond steep cliffs that he didn't think Kamon could climb.

"Bat!" Walnut turned at the sudden noise. He saw Theo sitting to the north, with a wild Zubat approaching him.

"Hey neat, a Zubat!" Theo said. "I've never seen one of those before! I bet battling it will be fun!"

Kamon squinted to make out the Zubat through the dim glow from Theo's flames. Walnut scurried closer to watch the battle. Chimer didn't seem to be paying attention.

"This should be interesting," Kamon said to his team. "Zubat's a flying type, and we'll be facing those in the Violet City Gym. So it's important to note this Zubat's strengths and weaknesses because it'll be-"

Theo released an Ember directly at the Zubat. It cried out and fell to the ground. It had fainted.

Kamon blinked. "Or… uh… we could do that, I guess. Good job, Theo! I guess I know who I'm using for the Violet City Gym battle!"

Theo blushed with pride. He began to run towards Kamon, but then a second Zubat flew down from the sky.

"Hey look, another one!" Theo said. "I think this one wants to battle too! Zubat sure are friendly!"

Walnut turned away from this battle. Watching Theo one-shot a bunch of Zubat was entertaining, but he had a responsibility here. He was searching for psychic, ghost or dark type Pokémon, and Zubat was none of those. Walnut continued to head south, and the sounds of battle echoed throughout the cave. It sounded like Theo was winning.

As Walnut headed south, he passed Chimer. The Bellsprout couldn't see in the dark at all (few grass Pokémon could) and Walnut's first inclination was to sneak past her. He doubted he'd enjoy any conversation the two would have. But Chimer was a part of the team, and Walnut felt it was his duty to at least try to make her feel welcome.

"Hi there!" Walnut said. "Any luck finding something?"

"No," Chimer snarled. "I haven't found any Pokémon here at all, let alone some stupid psychic type. But if I did find a psychic type, I'd beat it up myself, because-"

Chimer was interrupted when a Geodude leapt down from the ceiling. Her poor night vision must have made it harder to see, because she flailed back in surprise.

"Let me handle this," Walnut said. Admittedly his normal attacks wouldn't affect the Geodude much, but it was better than letting a new Pokémon with hardly any training battle the thing. Walnut didn't know if this was one of those Geodude that exploded, but he didn't want to risk it.

"You!?" Chimer smirked. "Don't make me laugh!" She raced towards the Geodude and delivered a Vine Whip. The Geodude used a Defense Curl to resist, but the attack still struck it hard.

"You think that'll save you!?" Chimer cried. She delivered another Vine Whip that knocked the Geodude right out. Then she laughed and turned to Walnut.

"I bet you couldn't have beat it in two hits like that," Chimer said. "Knowing you, you'd just try to eat it! That's probably why you're so fat!"

Walnut thought things were getting a little personal. He decided to head north again to see how Theo was faring. He found the fire type having just defeated another Zubat.

"These things are feisty!" Theo said. "I don't know where they keep coming from, but they all want to fight me! They aren't that strong, but there's just so many of them…"

"Want some help with them?" Walnut asked.

"No, that's okay. I can – oh, are there even _more!?"_ Theo sighed as two Zubat flew down from the cave roof. "This is getting annoying now."

Walnut wanted to jump in to help, but Theo soon made short work of the Zubat. Then he remembered his assignment was to search the south, and he hadn't done that yet. The last thing he wanted was to disobey his trainer now, after Kamon had been so patient with him.

As Walnut headed south again, he encountered Chimer. This time he _did_ actively try to avoid her, but she must have overheard him.

"Hey, it's the loser!" Chimer sneered. "How's it going, loser? Looking for some more Pokémon that you want me to beat for you!?"

Walnut wondered if Chimer's hostility towards him was because he'd defeated her and allowed her to be captured. Whatever the reason, it sure was annoying. He kept walking south. He'd be out of her line of sight soon, and he could get back to searching for psychic types.

"You're just a furry sewer rat," Chimer said. "I'm one of the most powerful grass types around. If you don't respect that, I'll Vine Whip you until you're crying like a baby Cleffa. So stay out of my way or I'll..."

As Chimer walked towards him, she stepped dangerously close to the fainted Geodude. With her limited night vision, she didn't see where he was lying on the floor. Walnut was about to call out a warning, but Chimer stumbled over the Geodude and fell to the ground.

Chimer struggled to regain her balance, and she felt at the ground for support. One of her arms happened to touch an uneven space on the cave floor, a space that led to a five foot drop. Chimer misjudged her weight and fell back again, this time over the uneven part of the floor. She scrambled to steady herself, failed, and began to tumble over the ledge. At the last moment, she grabbed at the floor with one of her arms. Soon she was dangling off the ledge, grabbing at the edge to keep from falling.

"Walnut!" she cried. "Help me!"

Walnut began to race towards her, using his Quick Attack to gain speed. But then he noticed a faint round shape out of the corner of his eye. It was sitting in a corner of the cave that Walnut hadn't explored yet. It only took a second before Walnut recognized what it was. It was a Potion.

A delicious, delicious Potion.

Walnut's mouth began to water at the sight of it. He imagined cracking the purple plastic with his teeth, tearing away to get at the juicy chemicals inside. The chemicals gave the Potion its flavour, and the plastic coating added a zesty crunch.

Entranced, Walnut began to walk towards the Potion. He imagined the delicious first bite – the first bite of a Potion was always the best. He pictured savouring the flavour, eating away without any guilt. The Potion wasn't Kamon's after all, and that meant he wouldn't mind if Walnut ate it.

"Walnut!" Chimer cried. Her grip was beginning to loosen. "What are you _doing!?"_

Walnut looked from Chimer to the Potion. Whatever else she might be, Chimer was still a member of the team. Nobody else could see what was happening to her in the darkness. The only one who could save her was Walnut. His choice was clear.

Walnut darted over to the Potion, and began to chew on it.

"WALNUT, I AM GOING TO TEAR OFF YOUR-" Walnut never found out what Chimer was going to tear off. She lost her grip and fell five feet to the floor. It was quite a distance for such a tiny Bellsprout, and she collapsed in a heap.

Walnut hoped Chimer was okay. He would've called after her, but that would mean he'd have to stop chewing on the Potion. And he wasn't about to do that.

"You stupid… worthless… rodent." Chimer moaned from the ground. "When I get… my hands… on you…"

She was interrupted by Theo, who was racing towards them. Walnut heard the flutter of wings. He looked up and saw over thirty Zubat chasing Theo.

"They won't leave me alone!" Theo cried. "You beat one of them, and three more show up! What did I do to deserve this!? Why won't they go away!? They never go away! _I didn't do anything!"_

Walnut swallowed the remainder of his Potion and thought for a moment. He considered racing to help his friend, but the sheer number of Zubat flying after them made him rethink that plan. Instead he beckoned Theo towards the small cliff Chimer had jumped off of. He waited for Theo to reach them, and then they jumped from the cliff together. They tucked and rolled, which kept them from hurting themselves in the fall like Chimer had. As Walnut and Theo fell to the ground, the flock of Zubat flew overhead and off into the distance.

"Thanks Walnut," said Theo. "I don't know how that happened. Those Zubat just never go away! You beat one and five more come out of nowhere. It's just so annoying, it – oh."

Theo realized that he had been sitting on Chimer's leg. The Bellsprout was glaring at him angrily, but didn't look like she wanted to risk attacking a fire type.

Theo shuffled off her leg and turned to Walnut.

"We should get back to Kamon. If there were any psychic types living here, that flock of Zubat would've scared them away."

"Sounds like a plan," Walnut said. He turned to Chimer. "Do you need some help walking back?"

_"I hate you,"_ said Chimer.

"We should get going," Theo said. "You lead the way, Walnut. Your night vision should help us find Kamon." Then he paused and squinted at Walnut. "Hey wait a second, is that plastic in your teeth?"

"No," said Walnut. He covered his mouth with his paw, and led Theo and Chimer back to their trainer.

Kamon noticed them from a distance, thanks to Theo's flames. He waved at them and they raced towards him.

"Did you have any luck?" Kamon asked. Walnut, Theo and Chimer all shook their heads. "Me neither. Hey Chimer, what happened to you?"

Chimer snarled at him.

"Never mind," Kamon said. "I guess we should try – oh, hang on." His Pokégear had started to ring. Kamon picked it up to answer. "Hello?"

"Hi Kamon, this is Professor Elm. I've been doing a bit more research about Dark Cave after you asked me about it."

Walnut scurried closer to hear.

"I'm afraid I gave you some bad advice," Professor Elm said. "The only psychic Pokémon that lives in Dark Cave is Wobbuffet. It can't use Dream Eater or Nightmare, or transmit its thoughts through dreams in any way at all. The only psychic move it knows is Mirror Coat. And you can't find it through the Violet City entrance to Dark Cave anyway."

Kamon gritted his teeth. "So this visit has been a complete waste of time?"

"I'm afraid so," Professor Elm said. "I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble."

"No," Kamon sighed. "That's alright. Thanks for your help, I guess."

Kamon hung up the Pokégear and turned to his team.

"Well, you heard the professor. The psychic type we're looking for isn't in Dark Cave after all. So I guess we've wasted a trip. Did any of you learn anything from it? Any items or experience? Anything at all to justify our visit here?"

Theo shrugged. Chimer scowled at everyone.

Walnut nodded. He had gotten a free meal out of it, after all.

"Well that's something, at least." Kamon beckoned to Walnut. "Come on, you're the only one who can see more than two feet ahead. I need you to help us find the exit."

Walnut moved ahead of his trainer and began to scan the area. Theo and Chimer were recalled to their Pokéballs.

As Walnut began to head for the exit, his stomach growled happily. Yes, he'd betrayed Chimer for a free meal, Kamon was no closer to solving the mystery behind his dreams, and Theo had nearly been eaten by a flock of Zubat. But Walnut had gotten to eat a free Potion. So all in all, it was a pretty good day.


	27. Chapter 27: Theo

"Okay team! Our new training regiment starts today!"

Kamon clapped his hands and pointed to three large sacks in the field. They had been stuffed with grass and were propped up on sticks.

"When I give the command, I want you to attack these sacks. To finish the exercise, you have to break the sacks open in ten seconds."

Theo cocked his head. He wasn't sure what kind of training exercise this was supposed to be. It seemed really easy.

"The catch is you'll be starting from way back there," Kamon pointed to the far edge of the field. "You'll have to get creative to find a way to reach your sacks and destroy them in ten seconds."

Theo turned to Walnut and Chimer. He wondered how they were planning to destroy their targets. He imagined Walnut would just use Quick Attack to reach the sacks in time, but he had no idea what Chimer would do. The only move the Bellsprout knew was Vine Whip, and Theo had no idea how it could use that to reach its target.

"This will be good training for the Violet City Gym," Kamon said. "Flying Pokémon are known for being fast, and so it'll help if you get your speed up. Plus you'll all need to get used to attacking targets that are far away. It's hard to fight a Pokémon that's airborne when you aren't… maybe I should've caught a Zubat in Dark Cave."

Theo shuddered at the idea.

"Oh well. Everyone, get to your starting points." Kamon pointed and the three Pokémon walked over to the edge of the field. "You can start on my count."

Theo gazed at one of the sacks across the field. Kamon had written Theo's name on the sack. Theo gave the sack a determined glare. He'd already figured out how to attack it.

"GO!" Kamon shouted, and the three Pokémon took off.

Walnut began with a Quick Attack, just as Theo had expected. The Sentret began racing towards his sack, his tail streaming in the wind. Chimer had started to race forward, but she wasn't making much progress. Her legs weren't built for running, and there was no chance she'd reach her sack in ten seconds. Chimer seemed to notice this, and she changed her direction. Now she was running towards Walnut.

Theo didn't have time to figure out what Chimer was doing. He knew he wouldn't be able to reach his own target just by running at it. He was pretty fast for a Cyndaquil, but he couldn't cross the field in ten seconds. Luckily he had another plan.

Theo ran at the target for the first few seconds, and began charging up an Ember attack in his mouth. By not launching the attack straight away, he made it more powerful. He'd first got the idea watching Professor Elm's Vileplume use Solarbeam one time in the lab. Though his own attack was nowhere near as strong, Theo was still able to increase its power.

Theo released his Ember attack, and it flew towards the target. His aim was perfect and the flames landed on the sack. The sack began to smolder for a few moments, and then burst into flames.

Theo stopped running and clapped his paws together. He had destroyed his target without ever having reached it. Off to the side, he heard Kamon cheer for him. Theo glowed with pride at having pleased his trainer, but then he heard Kamon's cheering stop.

Theo looked off to the side to see how Chimer and Walnut were faring. What he saw made him recoil in shock.

Walnut was racing towards his target, but not as fast as he would've liked. Chimer had tied herself to the Sentret with a Vine Whip, and she had a firm grip around his thick neck. Walnut was struggling to break free, and Chimer was dragging behind him.

"You think you can outrun me, you stupid rodent!?" Chimer cried. "First you let me fall of a cliff, and now you humiliate me? I don't think so!"

"Chimer!" Kamon screamed. "Let him go right now – you're hurting him!"

Chimer's grip around Walnut began to tighten. The Sentret began to gasp for air and stopped running.

"I give up," he panted. "You… win…"

"You think I'll win by a forfeit!?" Chimer growled. "Fat chance. I'm going to prove that I'm stronger than you and that stupid Cyndaquil, and this training practise is the perfect time to do it."

"Chimer, he can't _breathe!"_ Kamon sounded angrier than Theo had ever seen him. "Let Walnut go this second, or I will…"

Theo darted in front of his trainer. He was tired from the training practise, but he could still run faster than Kamon. As he raced towards Chimer and Walnut, a second Ember began to charge in his mouth.

Theo released the Ember, aiming at the vines that tied Walnut to Chimer. The vines ignited instantly, and began to burn.

"What do you think you're…" That was all Chimer had time to say before the flames made their way down the vine. When she realized what was about to happen, Chimer began to scream.

"No! No, this can't… I won't…" The flames reached her body and Chimer's screams suddenly grew ten times louder. The vines surrounding Walnut had completely burned away. The Sentret emerged from their smoking ruins with singed fur. Theo was grateful his friend was alright.

Chimer's entire body was on fire. She fell to the ground and tried to roll around to put out the flames. All this did was cause her to grow dizzy, and she soon fainted.

"Are you guys alright!?" Kamon shouted. He ran over to Theo and Walnut, taking special care to examine Walnut's singed fur. "This doesn't look so bad. I'd better give you a Potion to be sure… and no, you can't eat it."

Walnut looked a little disappointed at that, but he bowed his head and let Kamon spray him with the Potion. Then Kamon turned to Theo.

"Thank you so much," Kamon said. "Walnut could've been seriously hurt there… the flames were coiled right around his throat. I'm really sorry guys, I knew Chimer had a bit of an attitude problem, but I had no idea…"

Frowning, Kamon walked over to the fallen Bellsprout. He sprayed a Potion in her face, and she regained consciousness.

"And just what exactly was that?" Kamon demanded. "You nearly killed your own teammate and for what? To win a training exercise? There wasn't even a reward for winning!"

Chimer stared up at her trainer. Theo didn't like the look in her eyes, and he began to growl.

"If you can't command your own Pokémon, you're not fit to be my trainer." Chimer snarled up at Kamon. "That Sentret was weak, and you shouldn't have interfered."

"These are Pokémon battles, not death matches!" Theo interrupted. Kamon couldn't understand them, so Theo knew Chimer's words were directed at him. "If a Pokémon is weak, the entire team works to help train them! And besides, you're the lowest level of the three of us!"

That seemed to have struck a nerve. Chimer growled and stepped towards Theo.

Kamon moved in front of her. "Chimer, we're not done here-"

"Want to bet!?" Chimer snarled and unleashed a Vine Whip at Kamon's face. He blocked it with his arm, and the vine left a deep red cut along his arm. Kamon fell back in shock.

Theo raced between Chimer and his trainer. "You need to stop. Right now."

Chimer snarled at Kamon and Theo defiantly, and then glared at Walnut for good measure. She stalked away with her head held high, and sat on a rock in the corner of the field.

Kamon sighed. "Thanks, Theo. I never thought being a Pokémon trainer would be this hard. There's something seriously wrong with that Bellsprout."

"Quil," Theo said in agreement.

"Still, I'm her trainer. That means it's up to me to deal with any attitude problems she might have. I'm going over to talk with her. Theo, I want you to stay here with Walnut. If we all crowd her at once, it'll just make her angrier."

Theo reluctantly nodded. He walked over to Walnut, who was still frightened by the whole experience.

Kamon began to walk towards Chimer. He walked slowly, so as not to frighten or anger the grass Pokémon. Theo watched his trainer carefully, in case Chimer tried to attack again.

Then Theo heard a voice from the bushes.

"IT'S TIME TO DIE, CYNDAQUIL TRAINER!"

There was a faint rustle from the bushes behind Chimer, and then a Rattata leapt out. Its left ear was torn and its fur was caked with mud. It looked like it had been through the wringer, but that didn't keep it from racing towards Kamon with a murderous gleam in its eye.

"I'm going to make you _pay!"_ the Rattata snarled at Kamon.

Theo suddenly recognized the Rattata. He had defeated it on Route 29 back when he'd first started his journey with Kamon, and then later he'd watched through his Pokéball when the Rattata returned for another battle. That time Walnut had defeated it.

Theo had no idea what the Rattata was doing all the way out here, but he wasn't sure he wanted to find out. The Rattata stepped closer to Kamon and growled.

Then it leapt towards him, and bit him right on the ankle.

"Oh sweet Arceus, it's _you!"_ Kamon cried. "How did you even get out here!?"

Theo began to race towards Kamon, but the day's excitement had worn him out. He knew how tired he was, and he wasn't sure he could fight the Rattata off. Walnut ran behind him, looking even more exhausted. The only one who was even remotely close to Kamon and Rattata was Chimer.

"Chimer!" Theo shouted. "Do something!"

Chimer looked over at her trainer, struggling to remove the Rattata from his leg. The rat Pokémon's teeth had torn apart Kamon's pant leg, and Rattata was now biting his ankle fiercely.

Chimer began to laugh.

"That's now what I meant!" Theo cried. He continued to run towards his trainer. Kamon shook his leg fiercely, and the Rattata finally released his grip. The small Pokémon went flying through the air, and landed on the far side of the field. It gave a small squeak as it hit the ground.

The Rattata looked ready to resume its attack, but then it saw Theo and Walnut heading towards it. It decided to cut its losses and darted away.

"This isn't over!" the Rattata shouted as it ran across the field. "I can follow your scent! You'll pay for what you did to me!"

Theo wasn't sure what he or his trainer had ever done to the Rattata. But right now he was more concerned with making sure his trainer was alright. Rattata bites had been known to cut straight through bone.

When Theo reached his trainer, Kamon was examining the bite.

"I think it'll be alright," Kamon said. "What do you think that Rattata was doing out here, anyway? Pokémon almost never leave their home routes."

Theo couldn't have guessed what the Rattata's reasons for leaving home were. His best guess was that it had a similar problem as Chimer… namely, that it was completely nuts.

Chimer had finally stopped laughing and made her way over to the rest of the team. She looked like she had something else to say, but Kamon interrupted her.

"I don't have the energy to deal with you right now." He took out Chimer's Pokéball. "Return."

Chimer disappeared in a flash of light, glaring at Theo one last time as she did so. Theo was glad to see the Bellsprout gone; things had been so much simpler before she came along.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with her," Kamon sighed. "We might as well make camp here for the day. It's probably best for me to stay off this ankle."

Theo nodded, and helped his trainer set up camp. Walnut collected sticks for the fire, and only about half of the sticks that he produced had been nibbled on. Theo started the fire, and Kamon cooked the group some canned tuna. When he served dinner, he released Chimer and gave her a handful of wild blueberries. Chimer accepted the meal without comment.

After dinner was finished, Theo assumed he would be returned to his Pokéball for the night. Kamon surprised him by placing the three Pokéballs back into the bag.

"I thought you all could sleep outside your Pokéballs tonight," Kamon said. "The night air will probably help everyone relax." Though Kamon didn't say it, Theo could tell his remark was directed at Chimer. The Bellsprout seemed to have noticed this too, because she walked off to the corner of the camp, muttering darkly.

"That sounds fun," Walnut said. "It'll be like a slumber party."

"Sure," Theo said. He had usually slept indoors in Professor Elm's lab, and he was used to sleeping in his Pokéball. A new experience might be fun.

Kamon got out his sleeping bag and put out the campfire. He went to sleep soon afterwards, and dozed quietly. Theo wondered how long this would last; his trainer's bad dreams usually started early in the night.

Theo paced around on the grass until he found a comfortable place. He rolled up and prepared to shut his eyes, but was distracted by Walnut. The Sentret was walking over to Chimer, who was sitting off by herself.

"Hold on a second," Theo said. Walnut didn't listen, and walked up to Chimer.

"Hi there," he said. "I think we got off to a bad start today. I was thinking we could start over. Want to be friends?"

Chimer considered this for a moment. Then she released a Vine Whip at Walnut, and caught him by the tail. She pulled upwards and dangled Walnut in the air. The Sentret began to cry out, but Kamon didn't hear him. He had always been a deep sleeper.

"Let me go!" Walnut cried.

"Let you go?" Chimer repeated. "Okay, I'll let you go. Where would that be? In a lake? Down a sewer drain?"

Walnut paled at that. Theo ran towards Chimer.

"Put him down," Theo growled. "Right now."

"I don't have to listen to you," Chimer said. "The only one I have to listen to is that stupid trainer. When he says jump, I'm supposed to ask him how high. Well I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to listen to him, and I'm not going to listen to you-"

Theo delivered a Tackle attack that knocked Chimer off her feet. In her surprise she released the vines, and Walnut fell to the ground. In a second, Theo was on top of Chimer, pinning her to the ground.

"I've had just about enough of you," Theo growled. "You've attacked my trainer and one of my teammates. I'm Kamon's starter, and that makes it my job to protect the other Pokémon."

Theo leaned closer to Chimer. Their eyes were locking.

_"Don't make me protect them from you."_

Theo released Chimer, and helped Walnut back to the campsite. The Bellsprout remained off in her corner of the camp.

There was no more trouble for the rest of the night.


	28. Chapter 28: Chimer

Chimer watched her trainer, and twisted her face in rage.

He'd barely released her from her Pokéball since the incident with that stupid Sentret. He'd been training Theo and Walnut over the last couple days, but she was only ever released for meals and bathroom breaks. The end result was that Theo and Walnut were both quite a few levels higher than she was.

"This is stupid," Chimer muttered. "I'm the only grass type he has. He'll need me! Maybe not for this upcoming gym… or the one after that… but he'll need me eventually!"

She thought she knew what the reason for her isolation was. Kamon was scared of her. He was afraid of what she could do to the rest of the team, after she'd nearly strangled that dumb Sentret. Now Kamon was afraid of what might happen if Chimer grew stronger, and learned even better attacks. Admittedly that Cyndaquil had beaten her pretty easily… but Chimer was sure that was just a fluke.

Now Kamon was walking along Route 31, with that dumb Cyndaquil following behind him. Chimer thought that was pointless. The Cyndaquil was already strong enough, as she knew from experience. If Kamon was a smart trainer, he'd be levelling Chimer up instead.

"Hey!" A trainer in a large straw hat was walking along the path. Chimer recognized him as one of the bug catchers that often wandered this route looking for rare bug types. "I caught a bunch of Pokémon. Let me battle with you!"

"Sure, why not?" Kamon said. "I could use some more levelling before Violet City Gym."

Chimer recoiled at the mention of Violet City's Gym. They trained Flying types there, so she was certain she wouldn't be used much there either.

"Go, Theo!" Kamon shouted. Theo darted in front of his trainer. Chimer sat in her Pokéball, pouting.

"Go, Caterpie!" said the bug catcher. The worm Pokémon appeared in a burst of light. It looked over at Theo and cowered.

Chimer rolled her eyes. Theo was ten levels higher than the Caterpie, and had a type advantage. This battle was going to be a walk in the park, and the Caterpie knew it.

"Theo, use Ember!" Kamon ordered. "But… er… do it lightly."

Theo released a small Ember, which Chimer noted was much less powerful than the one he'd directed at her two days ago. It was strong enough though, and the Caterpie collapsed to the ground. It had fainted.

"Aw man!" The bug catcher recalled his Caterpie. "Well let's see how you handle another one!"

"This doesn't seem fair," Kamon said. "Theo's pretty strong and all… maybe I should send out another Pokémon."

"Yes!" Chimer cried. "He's finally going to train me! I'll crush these stupid bugs like they're… well, like they're bugs, I guess."

"Go Walnut!" Kamon threw a Pokéball in the air. Walnut appeared in a flash of light.

"Sen! Sen!" Walnut jumped around happily.

Chimer gave a deep, throaty growl. First Walnut let her fall off that cliff, then he got her in trouble with their trainer, and now he was upstaging her. How could Kamon keep ignoring her like this? She was a strong Pokémon! She was even cooperating better – she'd grown to accept that stupid nickname 'Chimer'.

"Walnut, use Quick Attack!" Kamon ordered. Walnut raced at the Caterpie with a loud cry. He connected, and knocked the Caterpie backwards. Soon it was knocked out too.

"These Pokémon are pathetic!" Chimer laughed. It only made her all the more annoyed that she wasn't being given a chance to trounce them too. The bug catcher gave Kamon a determined glare, and sent out a Weedle.

"Walnut, use another Quick Attack!" Kamon ordered. Walnut ran at the Weedle and the bug type stood its ground. The Sentret knocked it back with the force of the Quick Attack, and the Weedle fainted too.

"Yay!" Walnut cried. "These bugs are going down easy! I must be getting stronger! I kind of wish the bugs would spray me with string like last time, though. That was delicious."

"Nice job Walnut," Kamon smiled. He had never smiled at Chimer that way.

"That's it," Chimer growled. "I've had enough of this."

She wiggled her Pokéball and forced it to open. She released herself in a flash of light. Then she raced to the field, and stepped in front of Walnut.

"Wait, I'm confused," said the bug catcher. "Are you switching Pokémon?"

"No," Kamon said. "My Bellsprout just wanted to switch in. Hang on, I'll call her back."

"Bell! BELL!" Chimer snapped.

Kamon raised his hands. "Fine, do whatever you want. Just make sure you follow orders."

Chimer smirked. Oh she'd follow orders, alright.

"Go, Caterpie!" said the bug catcher. Yet another small green worm appeared. Chimer could never understand why some trainers felt the need to catch two or three members of the same species. Maybe they just liked them that much.

"Chimer, Vine Whip!" Kamon ordered.

"Caterpie, Tackle!" replied the bug catcher.

Chimer ran at the Caterpie, but the Caterpie reached her first. It delivered a Tackle that hurt more than Chimer would've liked it to. She growled angrily. Theo and Walnut had been able to knock out their opponents in one hit, and they hadn't taken any damage. But not her, because Kamon never wanted to train her.

Chimer was aware of Walnut, sitting off to the sidelines, watching her. And that was when Chimer got mad.

She delivered a Vine Whip, smacking the Caterpie hard across the face. Then while the Caterpie was still recoiling, the vines returned and wrapped around the small bug's body. Caterpie was basically one long cylinder, and it was easy to wrap her vines around its entire body. When Caterpie was captured, Chimer lifted it up into the air.

"I've never seen an attack like that before," the bug catcher said. "What's it doing?"

"Oh no…" said Kamon.

"I hope you're watching, Walnut." Chimer dangled the helpless Caterpie around in the air. "This could be you if you don't stay out of my way."

She released another Vine Whip, and it struck the subdued Caterpie. Trapped in the air, Caterpie couldn't even counterattack.

"Hey!" the bug catcher cried. "That's not fair!"

"I know," said Kamon. "Chimer, lower that Caterpie to the ground right now! That's a direct order!"

Chimer laughed and used Vine Whip on the Caterpie again. Caterpie began to whimper.

"Caterpie, use Tackle!" the bug catcher cried. Caterpie tried to wiggle free, but it was useless. Even if the bug type broke free of the vines, Chimer held it ten feet in the air. There was nothing it could do.

Chimer delivered another Vine Whip, ignoring the protests of her trainer. Caterpie tried to use String Shot to deflect the vine, but missed wildly.

"Chimer, stop!" Kamon shouted.

"Let Caterpie go!" said the bug catcher.

Chimer ignored all of them, and then he heard Walnut's soft voice through the shouting.

"Hey Chimer, why did Theo and I beat our opponents in one move, but you've taken four and the Caterpie's still not knocked out?"

Chimer saw red. She delivered one final Vine Whip at the helpless Caterpie, and it fainted. Then she released all her vines, and the Caterpie began to fall to the ground. Chimer didn't care where the useless thing landed. She had rounded on Sentret, and she was about to turn her vines onto him. She would grab him by the neck again, and this time she wouldn't let go.

Behind her, the bug catcher caught the falling Caterpie. Chimer prepared to release a Vine Whip at Walnut.

But the Sentret's training had paid off. His Scratch attack reached her before she could even aim her attack. His claws raked her face, and she tumbled back. She fell to the ground dazed. When she moved to stand up, Walnut was next to her growling.

Kamon meanwhile was talking to the bug catcher.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I don't know what's wrong with that Bellsprout; it's really out of control."

"Awwww…" The bug catcher held his Caterpie, which opened its eyes. Then he hugged it. "I'm glad you're okay, Caterpie." Chimer watched this display of love and thought she might puke.

"I wish there was something I could do," Kamon said. "I could help you get Caterpie to a Pokémon Centre…?"

"No, it's alright," the bug catcher said. "Actually, since I'm out of Pokémon, I guess you won. Here, I should pay you."

"Don't worry about it," Kamon said. "I don't want to win like that. Are you sure your Caterpie's alright? I really feel guilty about all this. Take this Potion at least."

The bug catcher accepted the Potion happily and his mood changed completely. "You're awesome! I like you!"

Chimer thought the bug catcher was quickly proving to be a complete idiot.

"Thanks," Kamon said awkwardly. "I just want to make up for what happened, you know."

"Hey, I have an idea!" said the bug catcher. "I look for Pokémon here every day. When I'm in the tall grass, I find all kinds of Berries."

Walnut perked up at this and darted away from Chimer. He sat at his trainer's feet. Chimer began to wonder faintly if she could make a break for it while everybody was distracted.

"If you'd like, I'll share some," the bug catcher was saying. "Could I get your phone number?"

Before Kamon could answer, Walnut was pawing at his feet.

"Register the number! Do it! He's offering free food! Berries make every meal taste better! I know you can't understand me, but DO IT!"

"Your Sentret seems to like the idea," the bug catcher said.

"And I know why," Kamon said dryly. "But sure, we can exchange numbers." He swapped his Pokégear with the bug catcher.

"My name's Wade," said the bug catcher. He handed Kamon his Pokégear back. "You'll hear from me as soon as I find anything that you might like."

While Kamon was bonding with his new friend, Chimer was taking the opportunity to quietly slink away. She had an idea that Kamon wouldn't be thrilled with her after everything that had happened, and it might be a while before she battled trainers again.

Right after Kamon bid goodbye to Wade the bug catcher, Walnut pointed to Chimer and cried out loudly to get Kamon's attention. Chimer considered this the fourth or fifth reason for why she would get painful revenge on that stupid Sentret.

Kamon silently walked over to Chimer. He knelt over and grabbed her by the stem. Then he lifted her up until they were eye level.

"You could have killed that Caterpie today," Kamon said. His tone was cold. Chimer considered attacking him, but thought better of it.

"I've just about had it with you." Kamon gave Chimer a deep glare. She wanted to look away, but knew she'd seem weak if she did.

"There's no space on my team for Pokémon that disobey orders. And there's _really_ no space for Pokémon that put living beings' lives in danger. If the bug catcher hadn't caught that Caterpie when it fell, it might have died. Do you understand that?"

"Bell," Chimer said reluctantly.

"If you don't change your attitude now, you're going to regret it." Kamon took out Chimer's Pokéball and returned her to it. Normally Chimer would've resisted, but she didn't think this was the time.

She sulked inside her Pokéball for the rest of the day. Kamon kept Theo walking beside him and they made good time. By the end of the day, they could see Violet City on the horizon. When Kamon stopped to make camp a few miles from the city, Chimer refused to exit her Pokéball for dinner.

"Stupid trainer thinks he can teach me a lesson," Chimer snarled. "Let him think that. I'll pretend I'm all calm and nice, and thinking about what I've done. The next time he opens my Pokéball he's going to get the surprise of his life."


	29. Chapter 29: Chikorita

Chikorita stared at the clock. It was just a few minutes to twelve. And that meant Lizzy would show up soon.

Chikorita's plans to escape the lab had been moving right along schedule. She'd already figured out how to roll her Pokéball to the door, and she was just working on her timing. If she timed everything right, she could roll right out the door as soon as Professor Elm opened it to collect his morning paper.

Then she'd be off on her adventure, where she could find her own trainer and have all kinds of fun, just like Cyndaquil and Totodile. Well, just like Cyndaquil. She imagined that wherever Totodile was, he probably wasn't having that much fun.

Chikorita had been almost ready to enact her great escape, but that was around the time Lizzy started showing up. Professor Elm was obsessed with his work, and he would sometimes forget the more basic tasks of life, like eating lunch, cleaning up after himself, and letting Chikorita outside for bathroom breaks. Chikorita was especially concerned about that last one. Fortunately Professor Elm's wife had recently hired Lizzy, a young neighbourhood girl, to come check in on the professor every day.

Soon Chikorita and Lizzy were inseparable. Professor Elm allowed Lizzy to take Chikorita for walks around New Bark Town, and they would pick cherries in the orchard by Kamon's old house. They would swim together in the lake that connected to Route 27, and then wander along the water edge, sharing secrets together. Well, technically Lizzy was mostly the one sharing secrets. Chikorita tried to share secrets too, but that didn't go over so well. When Chikorita tried to tell Lizzy about the time she saw Cyndaquil betray Totodile, Lizzy had assumed the little Pokémon just wanted more fruit cakes. Not that Chikorita was complaining; Lizzy's fruit cakes were delicious.

Her new friendship with Lizzy meant that Chikorita's escape plans were placed on hold. She couldn't abandon her new friend; the little girl would wonder where Chikorita had gone. Besides, Lizzy had whispered to Chikorita during their walk yesterday that her mother was finally considering allowing her to start her own Pokémon journey. The Totodile theft had been widely publicized, and so Lizzy's journey had been delayed by her worried parents. But now her mom was finally relenting.

Why would Chikorita escape the lab now and go in search of a trainer, when the nicest little girl she knew was just about to become one? Chikorita was sure that she and Lizzy would be best friends (heck, they already were). They'd probably get along better than Cyndaquil and his socially awkward trainer, and they'd certainly get along better than Totodile and that horrible Pokémon thief. Chikorita, the last choice, was going to wind up with the best trainer of all.

It was true what they said. Good things happen to those who wait.

Now it was 11:58, and that meant Lizzy would be here any minute with Professor Elm's lunch. Chikorita wiggled in anticipation. The little girl's visits were the high point of her day.

The lab door opened and a small girl in a pink dress walked in. She carried a red lunchbox with her. She walked past Professor Elm's lab assistant Kevin, who was busy organizing some papers. The professor turned from his computer.

"Hello there, Lizzy!" said Professor Elm. "How are you today?"

"I'm very well!" Lizzy smiled. Chikorita reflected that Lizzy was always very polite. She thought that when they started their journey together, Lizzy would be a graceful winner whenever they beat other trainers.

Lizzy walked over to Professor Elm and handed him his lunchbox.

"Thank you Lizzy," said Professor Elm.

"It looks like you've been keeping your lab clean," Lizzy said. Then she noticed a round white egg sitting on Professor Elm's side table. "What's that for? Shouldn't it be refrigerated?"

"Oh no," said Professor Elm. "That's not a meal. It's a live Pokémon egg. Refrigerating it would… well, it would kill the baby Pokémon growing inside. I've just finished running some tests on the egg, and I'll be sending it off soon. You remember Kamon, that trainer I sent on a Pokémon journey? I'm going to ask him to look after it."

"I'm sure he'll do a wonderful job," Lizzy smiled.

"I hope so," said Professor Elm. He stood up from his desk. "Would you like me to release Chikorita? The carnival's in town and I'm sure the two of you would have plenty of fun visiting it."

"That does sound fun," Lizzy said. "But unfortunately I won't be able to spend time with Chikorita today. I'll be at home packing." Then she beamed. "My parents are finally letting me start my Pokémon journey!"

"That's wonderful!" said Professor Elm. "I'll miss having you around to bring me lunch every day, but I'm happy for you. Congratulations!"

Chikorita raced around her Pokéball in excitement. She was finally getting out! Lizzy and Chikorita were going to explore the world together, and they'd have all kinds of adventures. Maybe they'd even run into Cyndaquil and his trainer. Chikorita smiled at the thought of seeing her old friend again. They might even battle together!

"I could give you your Pokémon now," Professor Elm said. Chikorita's heart lurched. This was it…

"No," Lizzy said. "If I get my starter now, I'll still have to go home and finish packing. That's no way to begin a Pokémon journey. I should go home and finish packing, and then come back tomorrow morning. I just wanted to let you know first." She winked at Chikorita. _"Both_ of you."

"That sounds great," Professor Elm said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Professor Elm waved Lizzy goodbye as the small girl walked back out the lab door. Chikorita rolled around on the Pokéball machine. This was it. She was going to have her own trainer. She would start her own journey, and never get left behind again! Best of all, she'd be helping her trainer catch other Pokémon, so they could know the joy of being part of a team too. They'd all be like a big family.

For the rest of the day, Chikorita couldn't stop imagining all the adventures she and Lizzy would have together. They'd explore all the wonders of Johto, like Mt. Mortar and the Ice Cave. Maybe they'd even visit other regions, like Kanto and Hoenn. Chikorita was so excited dreaming about the adventures she and Lizzy would have, that she didn't get to sleep until well after midnight. She sat in her Pokéball, dozing happily.

By the time Chikorita woke up, it was already late morning. The sunlight shone through the lab's recently repaired window. Chikorita blinked and sat up in her Pokéball. Professor Elm was standing by his computer, and he was having an argument with his assistant Kevin.

"But I can't be fired!" said Kevin. "Why would you fire me!?"

"It's just not practical to keep you around," Professor Elm said. "I found somebody else more suited to assisting me with experiments and performing administrative duties." He pointed to the right of them. "See for yourself."

Kevin looked at the creature standing next to them. "But that's a Vileplume!"

"Plume!" the Vileplume agreed.

"Kamon and Lyra are having success walking with their Pokémon," Professor Elm explained. "So I've decided to test that theory in other ways. I'll be using Pokémon in the everyday elements of my life, and recording the results. That includes replacing my staff with Pokémon. And that includes you!"

"But you can't replace me with that thing!" Kevin cried. Vileplume growled, and Chikorita instinctively nudged back.

"This Vileplume can type faster than you," Professor Elm said. "It hasn't once spilled coffee on my keyboard. And I can use its gigantic head as a coaster."

"But what about all our work together!?" Kevin cried. "I've helped you write half a dozen papers on Pokémon evolution!"

Chikorita felt bad for Kevin, but Professor Elm just shrugged. "I suppose you did contribute in some small way. But look at it this way – who's going to know more about Pokémon evolution? Some wet behind the ears graduate student, or a Pokémon that's evolved twice? Through level _and _through evolutionary stone."

"I have a master's degree!" Kevin protested.

Professor Elm shook his head. "Kevin, someday you'll learn that the answer to every problem can't be found in a book."

_"But you're a professor!"_

Professor Elm sighed. "Now I feel sorry for you. I suppose I can give you one last assignment. If you complete it quickly, I'll allow you to stay on staff."

"Yes!" Kevin cried. "I'll do anything!"

"Good," Professor Elm pointed to the Pokémon Egg that was still on his side table. "I want you to deliver that egg to Kamon. Look for him in Violet City; he should be getting his first gym badge there by now."

"And if I do that, you'll keep me on staff?" Kevin asked.

"If you're quick about it," Professor Elm said. To accentuate the effect, the Vileplume bit Kevin on his hand. Chikorita winced at that. Kevin raced towards the egg, picked it up, and headed out the door thanking Professor Elm.

"Be careful with that egg!" Professor Elm called after him. "It's very fragile, you know!"

Professor Elm then turned to his computer. He opened up his e-mail, read through three of them, and then started up a game of Spider Solitaire. Chikorita watched him impatiently, wondering when Lizzy would arrive. The professor sipped a cup of coffee, and the lab was quiet for the next hour.

Chikorita paced around her Pokéball. It was nearly eleven o'clock. When was Lizzy going to get here? She squirmed in her ball, completely unnoticed by Professor Elm.

Suddenly the lab doors flew open and a small girl in a pink dress walked in. Chikorita's heart leapt and she wiggled around in her Pokéball.

"Good morning Professor Elm," said Lizzy. "I'm here for my Pokémon!"

"Lizzy!" Professor Elm turned from his computer. "I was expecting you earlier this morning. What happened?"

"It was harder than I thought to say goodbye to my parents," Lizzy said. "They were worried, but they were both so happy for me."

"Well, it's not only a big day for you," Professor Elm said. "Your parents are letting you go off into the world. It must be hard on them."

"I know," Lizzy said. "That's why I'm going to make them proud!"

Chikorita knew that she'd do all she could to make Lizzy's parents proud too. One time her mother had baked Lizzy oatmeal cookies, and Lizzy had shared them with Chikorita. That alone was enough for Chikorita to want to make her happy – especially if it led to more cookies.

"Well, then," Professor Elm clapped his hands together. "Shall we get down to business? We need to get you your Pokémon!"

"That won't be a tough choice." Lizzy turned to Chikorita and smiled.

"Actually," Professor Elm said. "I have a bit of a surprise for you."

He reached for a brown parcel on the lab table. He tore apart the wrapping on the parcel, took out the packaging foam, and then removed a small round object. "This was sent to me this morning by a friend of mine in Hoenn."

He turned towards Lizzy with a small red and white Pokéball in his hand. Chikorita stared at the ball blankly, not understanding what was happening.

"What Pokémon is that?" Lizzy said.

"It's a Cyndaquil," Professor Elm said. "My friend Professor Birch breeds them. So after you told me the good news yesterday, I asked Birch to send me a spare Cyndaquil. I didn't want to give you only one choice for your starter, not when Kamon had three Pokémon to choose from."

"Okay," Chikorita thought to herself. "That's not a problem. There's no need to panic here. It was kind of Professor Elm to give Lizzy a choice like this. She's still going to pick me. She has to. We've had so much fun together, hiking, swimming, sharing secrets…"

"I pick the Cyndaquil!" cried Lizzy.

"Really?" Professor Elm said. "I must say, I'm surprised. You've bonded so closely with that Chikorita, I might've thought…"

Lizzy waved her hand in dismissal. "Chikorita are lame. They aren't any good against the first two gyms. But Cyndaquil looks awesome! He has fire coming out of his back – who wouldn't want that!?"

"But…" Professor Elm looked confused. "You spent all that time bonding with Chikorita. I don't mean to pressure you Lizzy, but I know Chikorita really liked you."

Lizzy shrugged. "Not my problem. I spent time with Chikorita when she was the only choice for a starter. But now she isn't! The only downside is that now I wasted all that time playing with her."

Chikorita stared at the girl who had almost been her trainer. This couldn't happen. Lizzy would never do this. They knew each other; they were friends. Lizzy would never be this cruel, it couldn't possibly be Lizzy saying these things…

Chikorita placed her paws against the edge of the Pokéball and began to call out. If she could get Lizzy's attention, maybe she could change the girl's mind.

"Chiko!" she called. "Chi! Chiko!"

Lizzy stared over at the Pokéball blankly. "What does that thing want?"

"I think she wants to say goodbye," Professor Elm said. "Don't you think you should…?"

"Nah," Lizzy said. "I have a different idea. Why don't I battle Chikorita with my new Cyndaquil? I'd kick its butt with my type advantage, and I could use the battling experience."

The words cut through Chikorita like a knife. Lizzy would never attack her… how could she do this… they had been _friends._

"I don't think so," Professor Elm frowned. "Maybe you should get started on your journey."

"Fine," Lizzy said. She took Cyndaquil's Pokéball from Professor Elm and released the fire type. The Cyndaquil gave a squeak, and began to follow Lizzy.

Lizzy waved goodbye to Professor Elm. She walked out of the lab, and out of Chikorita's life forever.

"Please!" Chikorita called after Lizzy. "Don't leave me! Please, I don't want to be alone again! PLEASE!"

Lizzy must have heard the pleas – Chikorita was shouting loud enough that the neighbours probably heard them – but the little girl ignored her. Lizzy walked out of the lab doors, followed by her new Cyndaquil.

"No," Chikorita cried. "Oh please, no…" She hid her face with her leaf. She didn't want to see anyone right now. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and pretend this horrible morning had never happened.

"Chikorita," Professor Elm's voice was faint. "I'm sorry about that. I was just giving her the choice to be polite. I never thought she'd actually pick that Cyndaquil."

Chikorita peered out from behind her leaf. Professor Elm and his Vileplume assistant were staring at her.

"Pluuuuuume!" the Vileplume pointed. Chikorita was pretty sure it was mocking her.

"Come to think of it," Professor Elm said. "There's really no reason to keep you on that Pokéball machine. Kamon and Lizzy were the only two trainers in New Bark Town who were around the age to start their Pokémon journey." He picked Chikorita's Pokéball up from the machine.

Chikorita didn't understand. What was happening to her now?

"I don't expect another new trainer to show up for at least six months," Professor Elm said. "So I'm just going to keep you in storage until then."

Professor Elm walked over to a dingy old file cabinet. It was where Professor Elm kept all his old university reports, books he'd never finished, and other things he couldn't quite bear to throw away. Professor Elm opened the cabinet door and it gave a rusty squeak.

"No!" Chikorita screamed. She had only just figured out what he was planning. "Please! Don't leave me here in the dark!"

"Vileplume will be in charge of feeding you and letting you out for bathroom breaks." Professor Elm nodded to the Vileplume. "That'll be one of his first new responsibilities as my lab assistant."

"Pluuuuuume," the Vileplume agreed.

"Please!" Chikorita cried as she was placed in the file cabinet. "I'm begging you! I'll do anything! Please professor! No, no, no, NO!"

Professor Elm waved goodbye to Chikorita, and shut the cabinet door. The clang of the door echoed through the cabinet and Chikorita whimpered in despair.

Then she was left alone in the darkness.


	30. Chapter 30: Kamon

"Welcome to Violet City!" Kamon announced.

Theo squeaked in reply.

"I have a list of things for us to do," Kamon said. "First is to get everybody rested at the Pokémon Centre, obviously. Second is to visit Sprout Tower. Third is to get the Violet City Gym Badge."

"Quil?" Theo looked confused.

"Oh, you're confused about the second item. Sprout Tower is this really old tower that was built decades ago. It's held together by a massive swaying pillar."

"Quil!" Theo smiled. The Cyndaquil seemed impressed.

"That's not the best part," Kamon said. "Sprout Tower is supervised by a group of monks who teach coexistence through cooperation. And all of them train Bellsprout."

"Cyndaquil!" Theo looked like he understood where Kamon was going with this.

"These monks should be able to help me figure out what's wrong with Chimer. At the very least, they can help me get inside her head." Kamon figured Chimer was listening to him in her Pokéball, but he didn't care. Maybe if the Bellsprout knew where he was taking her, she wouldn't try attacking him when they got there.

Kamon checked his map, and located the nearest Pokémon Centre. He began to head further into Violet City, when a voice called out behind him.

"I knew it was you, Kamon!"

Kamon recognized the voice at once.

"That's Lyra!" he whispered to Theo. "Quick Theo, pretend you look handsome."

Theo bristled at that, and turned away as Lyra ran up to Kamon. Her Marill bounced enthusiastically behind her.

"How did you get past me?" Lyra smiled.

"I guess it was just luck," Kamon said. "You've been training so much longer than me. I mean, look at your Marill… he's so happy and energetic!"

"He sure is!" Lyra patted Marill, who began to bounce on his tail. "That's because I've been feeding him vitamins! Protein, Calcium, Zinc… things like that."

"He looks great," Kamon smiled. "Maybe I should buy Theo some vitamins."

"Yeah, Theo's looking good too!" Lyra patted the Cyndaquil. "I'm really impressed! Here is something neat for surprising me, Kamon!"

Lyra handed Kamon a rectangular blue device. Kamon took it and examined the label.

"A Vs. Recorder," Kamon read. "What's this for?"

"The Vs. Recorder can record your Pokémon battles." Lyra smiled. "You can look back on your battles and see how you can improve."

"That'll be really useful," Kamon smiled. "This means a lot. Thanks!"

"No problem!" Lyra grinned. "So how's your Pokémon team coming? Did any of my tips help? Have you caught anything?"

"Oh… a few things." Kamon wasn't about to reveal his disturbed Bellsprout to Lyra. He was afraid it might start choking her with its vines. "Mostly I've been raising the Pokémon I already have."

"That sounds great!" Lyra smiled. "I have to go now! I won't let you pass me again!"

Lyra turned to her Marill, which was closely examining a passing cloud. "Let's go Marill!"

Marill seemed surprised at hearing his name mentioned, and he promptly began racing off in the other direction. He realized his mistake, and then ran after Lyra.

"I think he had a few too many vitamins this morning," Lyra explained. "Take care, Kamon!"

Kamon waved goodbye as Lyra and Marill walked off into Violet City. When she was gone, Kamon turned to Theo.

"Wasn't that a nice gift? I thought that was so nice of Lyra. I guess some people are just like that."

Theo rolled his eyes.

"Oh, whatever. Come on, let's get to the Pokémon Centre."

Kamon found the Pokémon Centre without trouble, and handed his three Pokéballs to the nurse on duty. He cautioned her when he gave her Chimer's Pokéball, and the nurse waved off his concerns. No doubt she was used to overprotective trainers insisting that all their Pokémon's wishes be met, but Kamon was just concerned Chimer might attack her.

Theo's Pokéball was returned to Kamon before any of the others were. Kamon and Theo walked over to a nearby chair, and waited for the others to finish. Kamon took out a granola bar from his bag, and broke it up into pieces for Theo to eat.

Soon Kamon was aware of a man grinning at him. When Kamon made eye contact with the man, he waved.

"Hello!" said the man. "I should be a familiar face to every Pokémon fan."

"You should?" Kamon thought hard, but he couldn't place the man. 'Were you on that show with the talking Kangaskhan?

"No!"

"Did you play the baby? You kind of look like the actor who played the baby."

"NO! I'm from the TV show, "The Show Me Show!" I am Primo, the big brother!"

Kamon blinked. He'd never heard of The Show Me Show in his life, but he thought it might be rude to say so. Instead he simply smiled and nodded.

This seemed to excite Primo. "Today, would you, one of my fans, tell me what you think of me?"

"Oooh…" Kamon thought for a moment. It would be difficult to answer this question without revealing to Primo that he knew absolutely nothing about him or his show. "Ummm… let me think…"

Then Kamon looked down at Theo.

"Hey, you know who's actually a huge fan of your show?" Kamon smiled. "My Cyndaquil!"

Theo gave an indignant squeak. From the sounds of things, he hadn't heard of Primo either, and he didn't appreciate getting dragged into this awkward moment.

"He watches it every day!" Kamon lied. "So why don't you ask him what he thinks of the show?"

"But..." Primo blinked. "How would I understand what he's saying?"

"I'll use a dictionary!" Kamon walked over to the Pokémon Centre's bookcase, and produced a small pocket dictionary. "Theo can point to the words in here, and tell you what he thinks!"

"Can your Cyndaquil read?" Primo asked.

"Probably." Kamon placed the pocket dictionary at Theo's feet. "Okay Theo, find some words to describe your love for Primo's show."

Theo pointed to a word that Kamon was not allowed to say in public.

"Not _that _word!" Kamon cried. "Pick something else!"

Theo sighed and pointed to a word. Then he flipped the pages with his nose and pointed at another word.

"Okay," Kamon read over Theo's shoulder. "It looks like Theo thinks you're a… partner… girl." When he looked up at Primo, the man was frowning. "Don't blame me; those are the words Theo picked out. Maybe it means he thinks you're friendly?"

Primo seemed pleased with that. "Oh my…! Is that how you feel about me?! I never thought about it that way before."

"Great," Kamon said. "So we'll just be on our way then…"

"By the way," Kamon interrupted. "How do you like the way I am so exciting and fun?"

"What do you think, Theo?" Kamon held the dictionary in front of Theo. The Cyndaquil looked increasingly annoyed that Kamon was using him to deal with this awkward situation. He pointed at three words without looking at them, skimming his way through the book with his nose again.

"Okay," Kamon said. "Theo thinks you're… viewing… shed… skin." He looked up at Primo. "Maybe it means he appreciates the depth of your performance? Because there are so many layers to it?"

That seemed to satisfy Primo. He regarded Theo with adoration.

"You are no ordinary fan, knowing such a thing! And you're just so adorable, too!" Then he looked up at Kamon. "You are a trainer, right? I'll pull some strings for you. I think I can swing a deal and give you this egg."

"Oh gee," Kamon said. "I don't know about that. I appreciate the offer, but I haven't had the best luck with eggs…"

But Primo didn't seem to be listening. He took an egg out from his backpack and placed it in Kamon's hands.

"You take good care of it!" Primo smiled.

"Well I'll try," Kamon said. "But that doesn't always work out. See, this one time I was trying to jump down a ledge…"

"It's been great meeting you!" Primo said. "I have to be going now. Goodbye!"

With that he walked out of the Pokémon Centre. Kamon paused for a moment, examining the egg. Then he turned to Theo.

"Sorry about that," Kamon said to Theo. "I get that was kind of awkward for you. But look, we got another Pokémon egg! One that I hopefully won't break this time! That was worth it, right?"

Theo growled at him.

"I guess not." Kamon placed the egg in his bag, reminding himself to avoid jumping off any ledges in the future. Then the nurse waved him over to the counter. "It looks like Walnut and Chimer are ready."

Kamon walked over and retrieved the rest of his team. Chimer's Pokéball rattled when he picked it up. He left the Pokémon Centre with Theo following behind him.

"Alright team, it's time to visit Sprout Tower. We're going to find out what's wrong with Chimer once and for all."


	31. Chapter 31: Theo

Theo didn't take his eye off the egg.

His trainer was skilled at many things, but taking care of Pokémon eggs was not one of them. His track record for this was just not good. And so Theo had appointed himself as the egg's caretaker. He had vowed to do everything he could to make sure this egg didn't suffer the same fate as the previous one had.

Theo followed Kamon to the north end of Violet City, where Sprout Tower stood surrounded by water. It was several stories tall, and built from ancient mahogany wood. The years hadn't diminished its prestige, and it easily outclassed the Violet City Gym as the most important building in the city.

Theo followed Kamon across a wooden bridge that led to Sprout Tower's front door. His eyes were still on the Pokémon egg, but now he was also watching the bridge. As a fire type, he'd never been a fan of bridges. They all had to collapse eventually, didn't they?

Kamon pushed open the heavy doors, and Theo followed him inside. The first floor of Sprout Tower was a pale brown room, lit by torches, with a massive swaying pillar in the middle. Bellsprout statues adorned the entrance.

Kamon surveyed the room for a moment, and then walked over to an elderly woman kneeling in front of a statue.

"Excuse me," he said. "Could you tell me where a sage is? They're the ones who train Bellsprout here, right?"

"A Bellsprout over 100 feet tall.." the woman marvelled. "People say that it became the middle pillar here."

Theo thought that posed an elegant solution as to what to do with the party's Chimer problem. Kamon listened as the woman pointed him to the staircase leading to the second floor.

"Let's go Theo," Kamon said. The Cyndaquil followed his trainer up the stairs.

The second floor looked much like the first. The floorboards were still dingy and the pillar was still swaying. Some monks in robes wandered the tower, and Kamon walked up to the nearest one.

"Excuse me," Kamon said. "I was wondering if you could help me with something.

"I imagine so," the monk said. "My name is Nico, and I've trained here for many years."

"Great," Kamon said. "So you must be pretty familiar with Bellsprout, right?"

"I believe so," said Nico.

"I was wondering if you could help me with my Bellsprout," Kamon said. "She won't obey orders and she attacks all my other Pokémon. I know it isn't because of my lack of gym badges, because I have other Pokémon that are higher level than her."

"It's because Chimer's crazy," Theo thought. Nobody had bothered to ask his opinion, but there it was.

The sage frowned. "This is unusual. Most Bellsprout caught on Route 31 are very gentle. They're usually completely willing to obey commands. May I see this Bellsprout?"

"I don't know if it's a good idea to release her," Kamon said. "Can't you examine Chimer through her Pokéball?"

Nico shook his head. "If you examine a Pokémon while it's confined to a Pokéball, you won't learn much. Why don't I study your Bellsprout through more traditional means?"

"What do you mean?" Kamon asked.

"I'd like you to battle me with Chimer," Nico said. He produced a Pokéball. "I have three Bellsprout of my own, and I can battle Chimer with them. That should give me an idea of your Bellsprout's mannerisms; if she's naturally aggressive or anything like that."

Theo was feeling a little left out. If anyone on Kamon's team should battle grass types, it was him. Still, he was grateful that none of his trainer battles had ever doubled as a psychiatric evaluation.

"I guess we could try that," Kamon said. "You're sure we won't damage the tower if we battle here?"

Nico nodded. "However hard we battle, the tower will stand strong."

"Alright, then." Kamon threw Chimer's Pokéball in the air. "Go, Chimer!"

Chimer immediately wrapped her vines around his neck.

"Ready for the surprise of your life, trainer!?" Chimer growled. "You think I'm insane? I'll show you insane. This should teach you to get me evaluated by some stupid monk!" Her vines constricted tighter. Kamon clawed at the vines and began gasping for air.

Theo raced towards Chimer growling. An Ember was already forming in his mouth.

"Don't resist!" Nico yelled at both Theo and Kamon. "Bellsprout are a peaceful species, and they respond best to love and understanding." He stepped towards Chimer. "Hello there Chimer, I want you to know that I understand what you're feeling, and I-"

Chimer released a second Vine Whip, and it coiled around Nico's neck.

"Arceus' sake, what is _wrong_ with this thing!?" Nico cried. He pulled at the vines around his neck, but Chimer held tight. Theo was about to move in, but then Nico reached for the Pokéballs on his belt. He released one, and another Bellsprout appeared in a flash of light.

The Bellsprout raced towards Chimer and released a Vine Whip. Chimer delivered a Vine Whip of her own. The vines connected in mid-air, and the two Bellsprout became entangled. They both tried to struggle free, but the vines only grew tighter.

The stress of the battle caused Chimer's focus on her other vines to loosen. Kamon and Nico were able to pry the vines off their necks, and toss them to the ground.

"We should stop this battle," Nico said. "Your Bellsprout is out of control, and-"

Chimer had found a way to free herself from the vines. She used a Growth attack, and her vines grew larger and more powerful. With the added strength, she was able to tear her vines away from Nico's Bellsprout. The other Bellsprout delivered another Vine Whip, but Chimer retaliated with one of her own.

"She's hurting my Pokémon!" Nico cried. "I can't tell you anything about your Bellsprout! Recall her before she kills somebody!"

Theo looked to his trainer. Kamon seemed to agree, and he moved to recall Chimer.

"Chimer, return!" Kamon shouted. The Bellsprout ignored him. She rammed the smaller Bellsprout with another Vine Whip. The sage's Bellsprout tried to block the attack with a Vine Whip of its own, but failed.

"First I'll crush you," Chimer growled at the other Bellsprout. "Then I'll crush that worthless monk, and my stupid trainer. Then maybe I'll just stay here forever. I could get used to all the Bellsprout statues. They kind of look like me."

She delivered another Vine Whip, and the smaller Bellsprout could barely counter. One more Vine Whip finished it off, and the sage's Bellsprout collapsed to the ground.

"Worthless," Chimer smirked. "Completely pitiful."

"I knew this was a bad idea! Chimer, RETURN!" Kamon threw the Pokéball at Chimer, but the Bellsprout dodged.

"Your Bellsprout is out of control," Nico said coldly.

"I told you not to battle her!" Kamon cried. "You said you could help!"

"And now I will," the sage said. He released two Pokéballs and two more Bellsprout appeared.

"Two against one isn't fair!" Chimer protested. Theo rolled his eyes at that. As if Chimer was completely innocent in all this.

"Take that thing down!" Nico cried. He wasn't so calm anymore.

The two Bellsprout jumped over their fallen ally and ran towards Chimer. Chimer seemed to decide she wasn't willing to take on both of them at once. So she turned tail, and ran off in a different direction.

Theo was disgusted. No matter what, a trainer's Pokémon never retreated unless their trainer gave the command. Retreating without orders was to betray the bond you had with your trainer. Theo wasn't exactly surprised that Chimer would do this – she'd betrayed her bond with her trainer at least six different times now – but he was still repulsed by it.

Chimer jumped at the pillar in the centre of Sprout Tower, and wrapped her vines around it. She swung against the pillar, adjusted her vines, and steadied herself. Then she slowly extended the vine, and began to descend down the pillar.

"Bring her back!" Nico ordered, and the two Bellsprout leapt after Chimer. They fastened themselves to the tower with their vines much as Chimer had, and then shot more vines down at the rogue grass type. The tower began to sway faster.

Then Chimer's vines began to loosen. They had started to go slack as the tower continued to sway, and the Bellsprout hadn't noticed yet. She was busy deflecting more of her vines to counter the attacking Bellsprout above her.

"She's going to fall," Theo realized. "And I bet she'll drag those other two Bellsprout down with her."

Theo darted past his trainer and Kamon shouted in surprise. Theo couldn't use an Ember attack – that would just cause the vines to burn away, and it might even light the pillar on fire. But he could try something else.

Theo leapt towards the shaking pillar with a Quick Attack, aimed at the first Bellsprout. He knocked it from the balcony and it tumbled through the air, landed safely on the second floor. He dug his claws into the pillar, which was now swaying harder than ever. There must have been some trainer battles on the floors above them. Theo could hold tight, but only for a few seconds.

With another burst of energy, Theo aimed another Quick Attack at the second Bellsprout. The Bellsprout fell back and landed on the floor next to its ally. Now Theo grabbed at the mess of vines that was wrapped around the pillar. By holding tight with his teeth, he could keep from falling.

Then all that was left was Chimer.

"Get away!" Chimer cried. She still didn't realize the danger she was in. Theo's added weight had made the pillar shake harder, and Chimer's vines were starting to slip away. In a few seconds she'd be falling.

A small part of Theo wanted to just leave her. Let her fall into the deep, dark pit surrounding the pillar. But she was still a member of his team. And so he still had to protect her.

Theo ran at Chimer and delivered another Quick Attack. The force caused the vines binding Chimer to the pillar to snap. The Bellsprout fell back onto the floor with a loud crash, and Kamon raced up to her.

For a moment Theo thought Kamon was going to confirm that Chimer was alright. But the trainer simply took out a Pokéball.

"Return, Chimer." Kamon's tone was completely devoid of emotion. Chimer was too dazed to resist and she disappeared in a burst of light.

Theo leapt free from the pillar, and landed on the floor beside Kamon. He ran over to his trainer, and Kamon patted him on the head.

"That was great work Theo," Kamon said. "I just froze, but… you think really well on your feet. I'm impressed. You know-"

Behind them, Nico cleared his throat.

"Your Cyndaquil knocked out my two remaining Bellsprout. I believe our battle is over."

"Oh yeah," Kamon said. "You don't have to pay me or anything; this was kind of an unusual battle and all."

"I'll pay you in advice," Nico said. "You asked me to examine your Bellsprout, and I have."

"So?" Kamon asked. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's simply deranged," Nico said. "Popular movies would have us believe that Pokémon only act cruel due to abusive trainers. This isn't always true. Some Pokémon are simply born with mean streaks in them. It's not very kind to say, but it's true. This bad attitude is more common in Pokémon like Gyarados and Tyranitar. But it can occur in any species, and it makes them extremely difficult to train. In extreme cases like yours, the Pokémon can barely coexist with humans."

Theo reflected that this had been his diagnosis of Chimer from the start – that she was just nuts. But nobody had bothered to ask him.

Kamon looked defeated. "So you're saying Chimer is crazy? That she has an attitude problem? That's hardly a diagnosis. And there's nothing I can do?"

Nico's eyes narrowed. "You can drop that Bellsprout's Pokéball in a lake."

Kamon bristled at that, and Theo couldn't help growling too.

"I'm not going to leave one of my Pokémon to die!" Kamon said. "Isn't there somebody else here I can talk to who might know more?"

"I suppose you could speak with our elder," Nico said. "But he'll tell you the same thing as I did."

Kamon looked at Theo, and then examined the Pokéball.

"We'll see," he said. "I'm going to speak to the Sprout Tower elder. Thanks for your help, I guess."

Nico frowned, and stood aside as Kamon and Theo continued along the tower. Chimer rattled inside her Pokéball, and Kamon returned the ball to his belt.

As soon as they were beyond Nico's earshot, Kamon sighed.

"I don't know what we're going to do with her, Theo." He patted the Cyndaquil on the head. "You've been so helpful dealing with Chimer's problems, but it's unfair to keep asking you to do that. And it's not safe to use Chimer in battle."

He took Chimer's Pokéball and held it in front of him. Kamon and the Bellsprout were eye level.

"We're taking you to the elder of Sprout Tower. He might know what's wrong with you. But either way, this is your last chance to turn things around and become part of the team."

Chimer cursed at him.


	32. Chapter 32: Chimer

Kamon had kept Chimer in the Pokéball all throughout their climb through Sprout Tower. She hated him for that.

Well, more than she hated him already. Sprout Tower was a monument to the greatness of the Bellsprout species, and she should be out enjoying it. But Kamon hated her because he knew she was stronger than him. He hated that he couldn't control her; and that was why he kept her confined to her Pokéball.

Worst of all was that stupid Cyndaquil. He had stopped her glorious escape. Well, technically it was him and the other two Bellsprout. But those Bellsprout were gone and Theo was sitting in the Pokéball next to her, so Chimer decided to focus most of her hatred on him.

Right now Kamon and that fat little Sentret were battling sages together. The sages wouldn't let Kamon visit the elder unless he defeated them all in battle. Kamon wanted to visit the elder of Sprout Tower, to see what was wrong with Chimer. That was stupid. Nothing was wrong with Chimer – it was everybody else that seemed to have a problem.

"SEN-SEN-TRET!" Walnut cried in triumph as he delivered a Scratch attack and knocked out another sage's Bellsprout. Chimer was getting a little uncomfortable at this. If Walnut could take down all these Bellsprout with ease, could he do the same to her? It only made sense that Theo could beat her – he was a fire type, and so he had an unfair advantage. Worst of all, the Cyndaquil had a twisted sense of justice that meant he always had to ruin her fun. Did she have to start watching her back around the Sentret now too?

Walnut paused after the battle and Kamon sprayed him with a Potion. Chimer snorted in contempt. Kamon had never healed her anywhere outside of a Pokémon Centre, and she liked it that way. It meant all her victories were hers alone.

Kamon and Walnut climbed another staircase. This floor was taller than the others, and Chimer could see sunlight through the ceiling boards. They had reached the top floor.

"Tret! Tret!" Walnut pointed to a Potion lying in the corner. Chimer had a sneaking suspicion he wanted Kamon to feed it to him. But Kamon simply walked over and placed it in his bag.

"Suck up," muttered Chimer.

Three monks stood in front of them. They frowned at the trainer who had come to disturb their work.

"This is it," Kamon said. "The elder's probably just beyond these guys. I bet they're his guards or something. If we can beat them Walnut, we can visit the elder and find out what's wrong with Chimer."

"Sen!" Walnut said happily. He charged forward towards the first sage.

To Chimer's annoyance, Walnut defeated the group of sages easily. She was actually kind of interested in seeing this Sprout Tower elder now, but she didn't want to miss seeing Walnut get beat up by some Bellsprout. But that never happened. Chimer snarled as Kamon advanced farther along the top floor of Sprout Tower.

Finally Kamon reached the end of Sprout Tower. An elderly sage in deep blue robes stood next to a cluster of Bellsprout statues. He was speaking to a red-haired trainer with a mean look in his eye. Based on the scuffed boards around them, Chimer imagined a battle had just taken place.

"You showed us what you've got," the elder said to the trainer. "And it is indeed good…"

The red-haired trainer smirked at that.

"Take this Technical Machine." The elder handed the trainer a small white disk. The trainer snatched it from the old man's hand.

"However," the elder continued. "You should care more about your Pokémon. The way you treat your Pokémon can be too harsh…"

The trainer made a rude gesture at the elder. Chimer found herself agreeing with the trainer. What good did hugs and love ever do? Did that help you gain levels? Did that help you evolve?

Well… love helped you evolve in a few cases. Most of the time it didn't, though.

"Remember, Pokémon are not tools of war…" The elder looked at the red-haired trainer with hope, but the trainer barely seemed to be listening. He turned away, and moved towards Chimer and her trainer. Then the mysterious trainer and Kamon locked eyes.

"Hey!" Kamon said. "You're that Pokémon thief from Cherrygrove City! Silver, right?"

"…Humph!" Silver didn't meet Kamon's eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a trainer here to raise my Pokémon, same as you. And you shouldn't waste your time with this stupid old man. He calls himself the elder, but he was no match for me."

Kamon looked at Silver with disgust. Silver barely seemed to notice.

"Sure enough, those who lecture how you should be "nice" to Pokémon… They cannot defeat me."

Chimer found herself nodding. This trainer seemed to know what he was talking about. Why didn't she have a trainer like that? Silver had Pokéballs on his belt; why couldn't _he_ have walked by that day in the grass and not Kamon?

"All I care about are strong Pokémon that win every time." Silver announced. "The rest of them don't mean anything to me."

Chimer couldn't have put things better herself. Whatever Pokémon Silver was training were the luckiest Pokémon in the world.

Kamon didn't seem to agree. He looked at Silver in disgust.

"I'm not going to sit here and be lectured by a thief," Kamon said. He reached for Theo's Pokéball. Silver seemed to decide that he didn't want to fight a trainer right after his battle with the elder. He took out an Escape Rope, attached it to the swaying central pillar of Sprout Tower, and used it to leap down to a lower level of the tower.

Kamon raced towards the elder. "We can't let him get away! He's wanted by the New Bark Town police for kidnapping a Totodile."

"I understand," the elder nodded. He beckoned to three sages standing in the corner, and they headed towards the staircase. "My followers should track down that boy before he leaves Violet City."

"We should head after him too," Kamon replied. Chimer was surprised that her trainer was showing some backbone for once.

"No need," the elder said. "There is an entire tower of sages who can pursue him, and two more trainers won't make much difference. That boy won't get far. Now what about you? Why have you come?"

"Well, I… I was hoping you could help me," Kamon admitted. "I've been having serious problems with my Bellsprout. She won't obey commands and she attacks other Pokémon. Sometimes she really tries to hurt people, and I'm getting concerned."

"I understand," the elder said. "It was wise of you to look for help. So good of you to come here. Sprout Tower is a place of training. People and Pokémon test their bonds to build a bright future together."

"That's why I thought you might help." Kamon presented Chimer's Pokéball to the elder. "One of the other monks tried to help, but he didn't know what was wrong with Chimer."

The elder peered into Chimer's Pokéball. Chimer glared right back. She wondered how the elder would take it if she used Vine Whip right in his eye.

Then the elder handed Chimer's Pokéball back to Kamon.

"I am traditionally the final test in Sprout Tower," the elder said. "Allow me to check the ties between you and your Pokémon."

"What do you mean?" Kamon asked.

"We will have a battle," the elder said. "You will use your Bellsprout and I will determine exactly what its mental affliction is through observation. But you must be willing to obey my commands. I promise not to order you to do anything that would cost you the battle."

"Another sage already tried the whole 'battle therapy' thing," Kamon said. "Chimer just beat up his Pokémon."

The elder gave a small smile that Chimer wasn't sure she liked. "I have something different in mind. I assure you that whatever your Bellsprout tries, I will be able to handle it."

Kamon shrugged. "As long as you don't sue me when she tries to strangle everyone." He threw Chimer's Pokéball in the air. "Chimer, go!"

Chimer appeared in a flash of light. It felt good to be out of that musty ball. The elder responded by sending out a Bellsprout of his own. Chimer was pleased to see that it was smaller than her. This would be a cakewalk. She'd sweep the elder's entire team of worthless Bellsprout, and then she'd choke him with her vines.

"Now!" the elder shouted to Kamon. "Recall your Bellsprout and send out a stronger Pokémon!"

Kamon didn't hesitate. He held out Chimer's Pokéball and recalled her. Chimer shouted in protest, but she was too surprised at the early recall to stop her trainer. Then Kamon sent out Walnut, that overeating nutcase. Chimer growled. This wasn't fair. This was supposed to be her fight!

The elder's Bellsprout used Growth to strengthen itself. Walnut took the opportunity to deliver a Quick Attack while the Bellsprout was exposed. The Bellsprout used another Growth attack in response.

"This is just pitiful," Chimer snarled. "I would've beaten this thing in one move!"

If Walnut heard her, he didn't give any indication. Kamon ordered Walnut to deliver another Quick Attack, and the Sentret complied. The Bellsprout fainted.

"What did that prove?" Kamon asked. "How did that help my Bellsprout?"

"You'll see," the elder replied. He sent out another Bellsprout; this one even weaker than the first. "Don't recall your Sentret. Continue the battle."

Kamon shrugged. "Walnut, use Scratch!"

Walnut ran at Bellsprout and used Scratch right on the face. This Bellsprout also used Growth in response, and Chimer groaned. These Bellsprout were making her entire species look bad. If she was out there, she'd be mopping the floor with them.

"Walnut, use Quick Attack!" Kamon ordered. Walnut charged at the Bellsprout, and knocked it out.

"COME ON!" Chimer screamed. She felt her control begin to slip. She imagined walking out there and using Vine Whip until both Walnut and the Bellsprout weren't moving. "These things are pathetic! I should be out there! ME! NOT HIM!"

"Alright," the elder said. He sounded as calm as ever. "Now is the time to release your Bellsprout."

"You sure?" Kamon examined Chimer's Pokéball. "She looks really angry."

"I'm positive," the elder insisted. He produced another Pokéball.

Kamon shrugged. "You're the wise one. Go, Chimer!"

Chimer appeared on the field again, and she cried in triumph. Now she'd beat the rest of the elder's Pokémon, and prove herself stronger than all the pitiful Bellsprout that were training here.

"Go Hoothoot!" the elder cried. He threw his Pokéball.

Chimer paled. Hoothoot? These stupid monks trained flying types!?

That wasn't fair! She'd watched that stupid weasel defeat Bellsprout after Bellsprout – and these were all Pokémon that she could've beaten on her own. Now it was finally her time to shine, and she was getting sent up against a flying Pokémon that came out of nowhere!?

Of course. Suddenly everything made sense. Kamon and the elder wanted to humiliate her. Well they were both going to pay for that.

Without waiting for an order, Chimer ran at Hoothoot and launched a Vine Whip. The owl dodged, and it rammed Chimer with a Peck attack. Chimer was winded, and she fell back towards the central pillar. She wanted to launch another Vine Whip, but she couldn't get her breath.

"This is wrong," Chimer moaned. "I'm better than all of them. I can't… I won't…"

Then the Hoothoot was upon her. It delivered one more Peck attack, and Chimer fell to the ground.

"Don't recall her," the elder said. "Leave her there. Send out another Pokémon and we will conclude our battle. Now we will see how your Bellsprout copes with failure."

Kamon looked over at Chimer awkwardly, but he obeyed the elder's orders. He released Walnut again, and ordered the Sentret to use Quick Attack on Hoothoot.

The attack connected and Hoothoot was dazed. The flying Pokémon responded with a Growl attack, but Walnut countered with another Quick Attack. Now he was darting around the room, and Chimer could barely keep track of him. She watched limp from the floor, injured and humiliated.

The Hoothoot delivered a Peck, but it didn't hurt Walnut as much as it had Chimer. Suddenly Chimer realized that all her problems went back to Walnut. He was always getting in the way. The stupid Sentret was even the Pokémon Kamon had used to catch her back on Route 31. Walnut grinned, and delivered one final Quick Attack. The Hoothoot was knocked out.

"Alright!" Kamon cheered. Then he checked his Pokédex. "Hey, Walnut reached level 12! That's awesome!"

"Ah, excellent!" the elder applauded. "Your Sentret performed admirably!"

Chimer slowly got to her feet. The elder noticed, but continued to speak.

"The way you battle is quite elegant. Your Sentret is clearly quite close with you."

Chimer made her way towards Kamon with a dark grin. The elder kept on talking.

"You should be able to stand up to Falkner. Or rather, your Sentret should. I'm afraid your Bellsprout is just too weak."

Chimer began to see red. The elder hadn't noticed.

"And you should be able to make good use of this… It is a Technical Machine called Flash... Take it with you! All kinds of Pokémon can put it to use. When a Pokémon learns Flash, you can illuminate caves no matter how dark they may be. You can try it on Bellsprout, for example… but maybe not yours specifically. It seems like Flash might be beyond her."

That was it.

"BELL! BELL! BELL!" Chimer screamed in blind fury. Though she was badly hurt, she still had the energy to launch herself directly at Kamon. She'd be better off without him. He was holding her back! She belonged with a real trainer like Silver; not somebody who was going to send her out against types she was weak against. All the problems in her life had stemmed from her stupid trainer!

It was then that Chimer decided to kill him. She released her vines and aimed for Kamon's neck. Everyone would be too surprised to stop her. She wouldn't stop squeezing until Kamon's face was purple and she was a wild Pokémon, one way or the other. Then maybe she'd seek out a trainer like Silver – one who'd give her the respect she deserved. There was just one problem with her plan.

Kamon had one other Pokémon that hadn't battled yet. Theo had been watching from his Pokéball while Kamon and Walnut dealt with the battle's aftermath. He had decided that he hadn't liked the look in Chimer's eye. Theo jumped at Chimer and delivered an Ember right into her face. Chimer was knocked back to the ground with an unceremonious thud. The flames were burning her, but she barely felt them.

By this point, everything was hazy. Chimer drifted in and out of consciousness; and she only heard part of the conversation.

"…She's never tried to hurt me like that before… thanks Walnut…"

"…that Bellsprout will try again… but I know what's wrong with her…"

"…delusions of grandeur… psychosis…"

Then for just a moment, the room stopped spinning. Chimer looked up at Kamon and the elder. She wanted to throttle them… wanted to kill them… but she no longer had the energy to lift a single vine.

"Your Bellsprout is clinically insane," the elder said. "She's a danger to the rest of your team. I wanted to determine how she reacted to failure; to losing a battle. The results were disturbing."

"It would feel wrong to abandon her," Kamon said.

"She tried to murder you," the elder said sternly. "We all saw it. How would you feel if she tried the same to another Pokémon in your party?"

"I just don't know about your solution," Kamon said. "Are you sure it's for the best?"

"Trust me," the elder said. That was when Chimer's headache overwhelmed her, and the room went fuzzy again.

When Chimer regained consciousness, it was very late at night. Her first reaction was confusion. She wasn't in the Pokémon Centre, and Kamon always healed her at the Pokémon Centre. Then she looked beyond her Pokéball, and saw a discarded Potion. Kamon must have used the Potion on her quickly, and then immediately returned her to her ball before she awoke.

That was wrong. Kamon never used Potions on her. He saved those for the suck ups on the team.

Chimer decided to check out her surroundings. She was inside, but she wasn't in Sprout Tower anymore. She wasn't in the Pokémon Centre either. She saw a window with curtains, a bookshelf, and a kitchen sink in the corner. Chimer blinked. She was in somebody's house.

Kamon was there too. He had detached Chimer's Pokéball and set it on a coffee table. He was speaking with an older man, presumably the homeowner. They were speaking in hushed tones, and the man was holding a Pokéball.

Something about this made Chimer feel on edge. She rolled her Pokéball closer to hear better.

"…just not sure about this," Kamon was saying. "She's really dangerous. I know the elder said you had experience with Pokémon that have personality disorders, but Chimer's a threat. She tried to kill me earlier today."

Chimer stiffened. They were talking about her. That was fine – she'd show Kamon that he couldn't gossip about her behind her back like that. Next time he opened that Pokéball, she'd wrap her vines tight around his throat until she was nobody's Pokémon again. The thought made Chimer laugh quietly.

"I know how to handle Pokémon like this," the man said. "But it just wouldn't be fair to take your Pokémon from you. You worked hard to train her and all."

Wait… what!? Chimer was suddenly confused. What did he mean by 'take her'?

"So what I like to do in cases like this is make a trade," the man said. "I have an Onix I've been raising for a while. He's the same level as your Bellsprout. So we'll make a trade, and everyone wins. You get a Pokémon that's not dangerous, and that Bellsprout gets the help she needs.

"HE'S GOING TO TRADE ME AWAY!?" Chimer screamed. That wasn't FAIR! Kamon was taking the coward's way out! She wasn't even going to get the chance to fight him, or the rest of his stupid team! He was going to give her away without looking at her!

"Done deal," said Kamon. He shook the man's hand.

"YOU COWARD!" Chimer screamed as the man moved towards the table. "You can't do this! I won't let you!"

The man picked up Chimer's Pokéball. Then he handed his own Pokéball to Kamon. Kamon pressed a button and a large, dopey looking Onix emerged. The gigantic rock type took up a large portion of the room, and it couldn't fully raise its head.

"Play?" said the Onix hopefully.

"Rocky's a bit of a handful," the man said. "Most Onix are. But he's a decent Pokémon, and that's just the thing you need after… well, all of this."

"NO!" Chimer cried. "I never got my revenge! It can't end like this!"

"Do your other Pokémon want to say goodbye?" the man asked. "They are losing a member of their team, after all."

"I can't imagine they'll miss her," Kamon said. "I'll tell them in the morning and it'll be like early Christmas."

"Do _you_ want to say goodbye?" the man asked.

Kamon shrugged, and he looked down at the Pokéball. "Bye, Chimer. I hope your new trainer makes you a little less psychotic."

"I'LL KILL YOU IN YOUR DREAMLESS SLEEP FOR THIS!" Chimer screamed.

The man whistled. "That Bellsprout has some real anger issues. You know what the cure for that is? Discipline, and hard labour. This Bellsprout is about to learn the value of hard work and an honest day's labour."

"OH SWEET ARCEUS, NO!" Chimer cried. "I HATE YOU ALL!"

That was the end of Chimer's time as one of Kamon's Pokémon. Her former trainer walked out the door without looking back. Chimer was left in her Pokéball for the night to cool off, and in the morning her new trainer had her start her new chores. Her first task was to carry a bunch of firewood from his back yard to his porch. Most of the wood was heavier than Chimer was, and by the end of the day she had blisters. Her new trainer was strict, and she barely had the energy at the end of the day to think about how much she despised him. But he had been right. Over the next few weeks, Chimer learned the value of hard work and an honest day's labour.

She hated every minute of it.


	33. Chapter 33: Theo

The first thing Theo noticed about the Violet City Gym was how tall it was.

He craned his neck and grew nauseous just by looking up. Large windows illuminated the room, and a cool breeze wafted throughout the gym. Theo imagined the wind helped the bird Pokémon train, but it just made him feel cold.

This was it, though. This was his first gym battle. Kamon had been planning to use Rocky, his newly traded Onix as his trump card in this match. But there was still a good bet that Theo would be involved in the battle too. He was Kamon's strongest Pokémon, after all.

A dark-haired man in glasses waved towards Kamon. "Yo, Champ in the making!"

Kamon looked a little confused, before realizing that the man was speaking to him.

"I'm no trainer, but I can give some advice!" The man smiled at Kamon and Theo.

"Any advice would be great," Kamon said. "This is our first gym battle."

"The advice is simple! Believe me!" the man smiled. "If you believe, then a Championship dream can come true. You believe?"

Kamon looked down at Theo. They both shrugged.

"Then listen," the man said. "The Grass type is weak against the Flying type. Keep this in mind."

Theo couldn't help but see the humour in that. It was just another of the many, many reasons why it was a good thing that Chimer wasn't on the team anymore. It was right up there with the whole "tried to murder the trainer" thing.

Except whose fault had that been? Who was the one who was supposed to keep Chimer under control? Who had failed to keep his trainer safe?

Theo shuffled awkwardly and continued to listen to the man.

The man gestured towards a wooden platform in the centre of the gym. "Please proceed forward and step on the floorboard at the centre of the gym."

"Alright," Kamon said. He stepped forward with Theo following close behind. Theo looked around the room, but he didn't see any trainers. There was a fence blocking off the rest of the room, but everything was abandoned. The only man in the room was the guide at the front, and the only object in the room was the platform.

Kamon and Theo stepped onto the platform, and it launched them directly into the air.

Theo cried out in surprise. He and Kamon went flying towards the ceiling. Kamon nearly lost his balance, and fell to his knees. Theo looked up at the approaching ceiling in fear, when suddenly the platform came to an abrupt stop.

Theo looked out in front of them. A small series of wooden boards were laid out in front of him to create a path. When he had seen them from below, they had just looked like part of the roof. But now Theo saw trainers standing on them, and they looked over at Kamon expectantly.

"There are always a few trainers to warm us up before the gym battle," Kamon said. "It's pretty useful – a lot of these trainers use the same Pokémon as the gym leader. So it's great practice."

"Quil!" Theo said happily. He followed Kamon out onto the wooden boards. They hadn't travelled far, when a bird keeper called out to them.

"I can't believe how ridiculously high this is!" he grinned. "But from up here, you can tell what it feels like to be a bird Pokémon!"

Theo looked at the ground eighty feet below him. He wondered if bird Pokémon regularly got sick to their stomachs like this.

"Let me see if you're good enough to face Falkner!" the trainer cried. He threw a Pokéball in the air and released a Spearow. Kamon beckoned to Theo, and the Cyndaquil headed forward. He moved slowly; taking great care as he walked across the boards.

"Theo, use Ember!" Kamon shouted. Theo raced at the Spearow, and the bird responded with a Peck attack. Theo released his Ember right as Spearow neared him, and the other Pokémon was bathed in hot sparks. Spearow cried out in pain.

"Use another Ember!" Kamon cried, and Theo obeyed. This time the fire was enough to take Spearow down.

"This can't be true!" the bird keeper cried. Spearow collapsed onto the floorboard. The bird keeper recalled his Pokémon and stepped aside.

"Nice job Theo!" Kamon said. "You beat our first gym trainer!"

Kamon looked excited, but Theo didn't feel the same way. He was still uneasy at being so high in the air, and the ride up the platform had left him nauseous. But that wasn't all of it. There was something else…

Oh, who was he kidding? He knew what was worrying him. And it wasn't the prospect of his upcoming first gym battle.

Theo sat down on the platform and whimpered. Kamon stood over him looking confused.

"What's wrong Theo? You're never a quitter like this."

Those words just made Theo feel worse. He curled up into a little ball. It had all been his fault. He was a terrible starter. The chaos with Totodile had been one thing (mercifully he hadn't seen Totodile back in Sprout Tower) but this was a hundred times worse. Now he'd betrayed a member of his own team.

"Oh," Kamon realized at that moment what Theo was thinking. "This is about Chimer."

Kamon knelt down next to Theo, doing his best to avoid looking at the ground below.

"Look, I get that you're upset we lost a member of the team," Kamon said. "But Chimer was dangerous. What if she tried to kill you or Walnut? Or the new Pokémon egg? I couldn't let that happen?"

Theo continued to whimper. Kamon didn't understand. His trainer wasn't the one to blame for this. His trainer wasn't the starter who was supposed to protect everyone.

Kamon seemed to notice Theo's turmoil. He slowly reached out and patted his Cyndaquil on the head.

"Theo… you don't blame yourself for what happened, do you?"

Theo slowly nodded.

"Well you can't do that. Every problem Chimer had was her own fault. If you don't believe that, you can blame me for what happened. Maybe I didn't discipline her enough, or maybe I didn't set enough boundaries."

Kamon ruffled Theo's fur.

"Everything in the world isn't your fault, you know. You can't take full responsibility every time something bad happens. Chimer was nuts, so you should blame Chimer. It all worked out in the end. We got a new teammate and now we're going to win our first gym badge."

"But Chimer's still gone…" Theo thought.

"You've given your all to protecting the team," Kamon said. He reached into his bag and presented the Pokémon egg that Primo had given him. "You've already done a great job at protecting this Pokémon egg. Remember last night when you kept me from tripping over it?"

Theo did remember that. Maybe he did contribute to the team…

"You're the most important part of this team," Kamon said. "There's just one more bird keeper. Ready to help me take him out?"

Theo perked up. Kamon was right. It wasn't his fault that Chimer had serious mental problems. They were ready for their first gym battle, and it was time to put that crazy Bellsprout behind them. Theo was ready for this! He was going to beat the final bird keeper, and help Kamon get his first gym badge!

Theo followed his trainer along the wooden boards, and up to the last bird keeper.

"Ho-ho!" the bird keeper said when he saw them. "You some kind of big shot?"

"Yeah we are!" Theo thought. Kamon's optimism had been contagious.

"We'll see what happens if you get pushed around up here. Think you'll stagger and fall?"

Theo didn't let the bird keeper get to him. He was going to help his trainer beat Falkner, and this bird keeper was the only thing standing in his way.

"People here are training night and day to become bird Pokémon masters." The bird keeper smirked. "Bring it on!"

The bird keeper produced a Pokéball and sent out a Pidgey. Theo ran towards the bird Pokémon, ready for Kamon's first order.

"Theo, use Ember!" Kamon shouted.

Theo released a burst of flames that hit the airborne Pidgey. The Pidgey squawked in pain and delivered a Tackle. Theo barely felt it.

"Now use Quick Attack!" Kamon shouted. Theo darted at Pidgey, and hit it in mid-air. The Pidgey fell to the ground and fainted.

The bird keeper shouted in protest and sent out another Pidgey. Kamon didn't hesitate, and ordered another Ember.

Theo released a blast of fire at the Pidgey, and it launched a Sand Attack to try and stop the flames. The Sand Attack failed, and the Pidgey was overrun with fire.

Theo was feeling more energetic than he had in months. It even looked like his Ember attack had done more damage. Was this all because of his trainer's pep talk? If so, it seemed to have really worked wonders.

"Now try Tackle!" Kamon ordered. Theo raced at the Pidgey, and found that his legs were moving faster than they usually did. Had he gained a level? Was that what this was? Theo was so preoccupied with his new burst of energy, that his aim was off and the Pidgey ducked out of the way. It returned with a Tackle of its own, but Theo barely felt the blow. Nothing could ruin his excitement now.

"Use another Tackle!" Kamon shouted. Theo ran at the Pidgey while it was still recovering and rammed it. The Pidgey went flying back towards a wall and crashed right into it. The flying type had fainted.

"Gaaah!" the bird keeper cried. The trainer began speaking to Kamon, but Theo didn't hear him. He was feeling amazing! It must have been the thrill of his victory. Everything was working out now. How could he have blamed himself for everything that happened with Chimer? He was great! He was feeling great, and everyone else was great too!

Theo had never felt this energetic in his life. He felt almost like he was glowing.

…Wait a second. He _was_ glowing.

Theo's entire body had started to glow a bright white. His paws were twisting in shape, and he felt his tiny body extend. The boards were growing smaller, and so were Kamon and the bird keeper. Wait, that was wrong. They weren't getting smaller. Theo was growing.

The light grew brighter and brighter, and Kamon had to shield his eyes. For a moment Theo couldn't see anything, and then when the light cleared he had transformed into an entirely new shape.

"Quil – lava," said Theo.

"You… you've evolved!" Kamon seemed to be in shock. "I don't believe this! My starter evolved before I got my first gym badge!"

Kamon couldn't seem to contain himself. This was more emotional that Theo had seen his trainer at any point in his life.

"I have the best starter Pokémon in the world!" Kamon cried.

Theo looked at Kamon with his new larger, sharper eyes. Kamon had said Theo was the best starter in the world. After everything that had happened with Totodile, and Theo's inability to get Chimer to adjust to the team, Kamon still thought Theo was the best starter he could've chosen.

And now a freshly evolved Theo was going to get Kamon his first gym badge.

Theo stared ahead at the end of the platform, where the Violet City Gym Leader was waiting. Falkner had a thoughtful expression on his face.

Theo stood next to his trainer with pride.

"Let's go win a gym badge," Theo said.


	34. Chapter 34: Kamon

"Welcome to Violet City Gym!"

Falkner was a friendly and welcoming leader. He had kind eyes, which suggested that he was used to dealing with new trainers. But he also had a cocky smile, which suggested he was used to defeating those same trainers.

But he wouldn't be defeating Kamon. Kamon's newly evolved Quilava would make certain of that. And if push came to shove, there was always his Onix. Onix was new to the team, but fairly high level and with good defenses. Not to mention there was that type advantage.

"I'm Falkner!" said the gym leader. "The Violet City Pokémon Gym Leader! People say you can clip Flying-type Pokémon's wings with a jolt of electricity…"

The leader's eyes narrowed. "I won't allow such insults to bird Pokémon!"

"That's fine," Kamon thought. Technically he was planning to destroy Falkner's team with a gigantic rock snake, not anything electric. But he wasn't sure Falkner wanted to hear that.

"I'll show you the real power of the magnificent bird Pokémon!" Falkner readied a Pokéball and sent out his first Pokémon.

A Pidgey appeared in a flash of white light. "Piiii!" said the Pidgey.

At first Kamon wanted to smirk. He'd been beating Pidgeys since he first started his journey. If Falkner's idea of an opening Pokémon was a Pidgey, then this battle was going to be a cakewalk.

That said, this Pidgey looked angrier than most others that Kamon had seen. It was fairly large too. Kamon vowed not to underestimate it.

"Go Theo!" he said. Theo leapt forward with a triumphant cry.

"Use Ember!" Kamon ordered. Theo released a blast of fiery sparks… except now that he'd evolved, the sparks were much larger. They coated Pidgey with flames, and the bird Pokémon quickly shook them off.

"Use Sand Attack!" Falkner ordered. Pidgey flung sand in Theo's direction. The Quilava moved to jump out of the way, but he wasn't entirely used to his new body yet. He jumped too late, and the Sand Attack connected. Theo cried out in pain.

"That's what I get for not training him to get used to his new body," Kamon thought. "He has all this power, but he's had no practice using it."

The best solution was to end this battle fast. "Use Quick Attack!" Kamon shouted.

Theo ran at Pidgey, but the sand in his eyes was obscuring his vision. Pidgey flew out of the way, and then delivered another Sand Attack. This one hit Theo straight in the face.

"Quiiiil!" Theo cried.

Kamon couldn't believe that his newly evolved starter was losing to a Pidgey. The little bird was well-trained after all. "Let's try something simpler!" Kamon cried. "Tackle!"

Theo fumbled towards Pidgey, but his vision was blurred from the sand. Theo's Tackle attack was wildly off the mark, and the Pidgey simply flew away to avoid it. Then to add insult to injury, the Pidgey flew back towards Theo and rammed him with its own Tackle. The Quilava cried out again.

Kamon winced. Not only was Theo adjusting to a new body, his eyes were now coated in sand. Then he realized something. Falkner stood above the rest of the trainers in his gym, and he had a good view of all their battles. That meant he must have watched as Kamon defeated all of his bird keepers. In each of those fights, Kamon had used Theo. Falkner also saw Theo's evolution after beating the final gym trainer. By the time of the gym battle, Falkner would've known Theo had no experience fighting as a Quilava. And so his strategy was aimed at wrecking Theo's coordination.

"I thought those trainers were to tire challengers out," Kamon said. "Turns out they were so Falkner could gauge my fighting style. That's clever."

He could switch Theo out. But the Cyndaquil… or the Quilava now… was his starter. Something about switching Theo out in his first gym battle, right after he'd evolved, didn't feel right. It would be like admitting defeat. And he certainly didn't want to admit defeat to a Pidgey of all things. Even if it was an especially angry looking Pidgey.

"Theo, use Ember!" Kamon ordered. Theo sprayed his sparks of fire throughout the air, almost as if they were fireworks. Some of the sparks hit the Pidgey. It cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground. It had fainted.

"Nice work," Falkner said. "But I think you'll find this next one more of a challenge." He threw a Pokéball into the air. "The wind is finally with us! Go Pidgeotto!"

A much larger, angrier bird appeared out of the Pokéball. It soared through the air like it didn't fear a thing. It was larger than Theo, and looked down at the Quilava like it was strongly considering eating him.

"That's not good," said Kamon. If he had known Pidgey evolved into this thing, he might've caught one back on Route 29. Then he looked over at Theo. The Quilava's eyes were red with sand, and he was looking tired.

"Falkner's been watching you fight all those trainers and wear yourself out," Kamon said to his Pokémon. "Not to mention he probably knows all your strategies by now. So let's do something unexpected."

Kamon recalled Theo and reached for another Pokéball. "Go Rocky!"

Kamon knew this would be unexpected, because at no point in his career had he actually battled with Rocky. He'd traded Chimer for Rocky late at night, and first thing in the morning he'd gone off to the Violet City Gym. Rocky barely had a chance to greet his new team, let alone practise training with Kamon. But Kamon was relying on the rock type's strong defenses to win him this challenge.

Rocky appeared on the field, and Kamon noticed something about his newest Pokémon that he hadn't paid much attention to before. Rocky was _big._

He's seemed smaller when Kamon introduced him to Walnut and Theo in the Violet City Town Square. But now the Onix stood curled up on a very small platform made of wood and thick glass, eighty feet in the air. Most of Rocky's tail was dangling off the platform, but the Onix didn't even seem to care. Some of the wood that Rocky was sitting on had started to sag.

"Get a hold of yourself," Kamon thought. "You're just not used to training larger Pokémon. Until last night the largest Pokémon you owned was that evil Bellsprout. But this is a gym battle, so you'll just have to get used to things."

"Okay Rocky," Kamon said. "Use Rock Throw!"

Rocky wiggled over to Kamon and licked his face. The force of Rocky's tongue nearly sent Kamon off the edge of the platform.

"Gah! No Rocky, what are you doing!? The Pidgeotto's over there; you have to go fight it."

Rocky lowered his massive head until he and Kamon were eye level. Then the Onix gestured upwards expectantly. He seemed to be asking Kamon to pet him.

"I'll pet you afterwards," Kamon promised. "For now I need you to fight that bird."

Falkner laughed. "Are you fighting me with a Pokémon you just captured? You didn't prepare for this battle at all, did you?"

"That doesn't matter!" Kamon replied. "How did you even get a Pidgeotto that low a level, anyway? Does the Pokémon League know you did that?"

Falkner didn't like the turn in the conversation. "Pidgeotto, use Gust!"

Pidgeotto whipped up a small tornado with its wings. The wind grew stronger and stronger, until the bird whipped it directly at Rocky. The happy Onix didn't see the attack coming, and he was struck in the back by the overpowering wind.

The wind made Rocky sneeze. At that point Kamon wished Rocky's face wasn't five feet from his. Rocky looked over at his trainer apologetically.

"Just attack the giant bird," Kamon sighed.

Looking guilty, Rocky complied. He turned towards Pidgeotto, and delivered a Rock Throw. He released a large boulder from his mouth, and shot it right at Pidgeotto. It hit the flying type on the head, and Pidgeotto was dazed.

"That's great!" Kamon said. "Now use Screech!"

"Counter with Roost!" Falkner ordered.

Rocky emitted a spine-curling cry that sounded vaguely like a fire alarm. Kamon had no idea that such a large Pokémon could emit such a high pitch. Pidgeotto flew to the ground and covered itself with its wings. Then it glowed white, and released a burst of feathers. It had recovered all the damage Rocky had done to it.

Even worse, the Roost attack seemed to have appealed to Rocky. Rocky was now looking at Pidgeotto like it was the cutest thing he'd ever seen in his life. He crawled over to Pidgeotto and licked its face.

"Uh…" Falkner didn't know what to make of this. "Was that a Lick attack, or…?"

Kamon sighed. An over-friendly Onix might be a hassle, but he was still leagues better than the psychotic Bellsprout that Kamon had traded for him. Still, Rocky might not currently have the competitive instincts needed for a gym battle.

Reluctantly, Kamon recalled Rocky. He thought for a moment about which Pokémon to send out next. By this point Theo would have recovered the damage from Pidgey's Sand Attack. And what better Pokémon to finish his first gym battle with than his starter?

"Go Theo!" Kamon called, and his Quilava emerged from his Pokéball.

Falkner didn't waste any time. "Use Gust!" he shouted. Pidgeotto released a burst of wind at Quilava, knocking him back towards the edge of the wooden boards.

"Counter with Ember!" Kamon shouted. Quilava released a blast of hot sparks at Pidgeotto, but the bird barely felt it. It released another Gust, blowing Theo closer towards the edge. The winds picked up, and Theo was moved closer and closer to the edge of the boards. His back paws scraped the edge, and he began to lose his balance.

"I need to move Theo out of the way," Kamon realized. "Use Quick Attack!" he ordered.

Theo dodged another Gust, and raced along the wooden boards towards Pidgeotto. Then he leaped – the longer legs of a Quilava helped with that – and rammed into Pidgeotto. The attack caught Pidgeotto head-on; his defenses already weakened by Rocky's Screech. The bird Pokémon fell to the ground and collapsed.

"I didn't know your Quilava could jump like that!" Falkner cried.

"Neither did I," Kamon said. "He's just evolved – he's full of surprises."

"I understand…" Falkner said. "I'll bow out gracefully." He recalled his Pidgeotto. Then he examined the bird's Pokéball.

"For pity's sake! My dad's cherished bird Pokémon… But a defeat is a defeat. All right."

Falkner reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal object. It looked vaguely like a tiny horseshoe.

"Take this official Pokémon League Badge. This one is the Zephyr Badge." Falkner placed the badge in Kamon's hand. Kamon felt a surge of excitement. His first step to becoming Pokémon Champion was already underway.

"With that Badge, Pokémon, including traded Pokémon up to Lv. 20, will obey you without question," Falkner said.

That bit about 'traded Pokémon' made Kamon think. Rocky was a traded Pokémon, so Kamon was grateful that this badge would help keep him under control. The idea of Rocky ramaging uncontrolled throughout the city was not something he wanted to think about.

"The Zephyr Badge also enables you to use the hidden move Rock Smash anytime outside of battle," Falkner said. Then he reached into his pocket again. This time he produced a thin round object that looked like a CD. Kamon recognized it at once as a TM.

"By using a TM, a Pokémon will instantly learn a new move." Falkner handed the TM to Kamon. "Think before you act – a TM can be used only once. TM51 contains Roost. It restores half the max HP."

"This is great – thanks." Kamon didn't think any of his Pokémon could use Roost, but he vowed to hold onto the TM just the same. Falkner had made good use of Roost in their battle; Kamon could see the value in it.

"There are Pokémon Gyms in cities and towns ahead," Falkner said. "Make good use of them!"

"Absolutely," Kamon said. "That's one gym down!"

"Actually…" Falkner looked troubled. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

Kamon shrugged.

"Maybe it's not my place," Falkner said. "But I wanted to ask you why you became a Pokémon trainer. I did it to live up to my dad's legacy. What about you?"

Kamon opened his mouth to speak, but drew a blank. He didn't have a ready answer for why he was going on this journey in the first place. That didn't seem right. Was he just going because it was what most kids did at his age? Was he looking for power? Was he looking for friendship? Admittedly, it probably wasn't the friendship one.

"Maybe I shouldn't have asked," Falkner said. "It's none of my business, really. As for your next move… I would suggest Azalea Town."

"Ah… right," Kamon said. "Azalea Town. Thanks."

Kamon left the Violet City Gym, wincing as he descended to the ground via the platform. He was thrilled – everything seemed to be going his way. He'd gotten rid of that psycho Bellsprout, Theo had evolved, and now he had won his first gym badge. Everything should've been perfect. But something about Falkner's words had gotten to him. It was troubling him even worse than those dreams with the mystery Pokémon. Why did he want to train Pokémon? Was it for power? Or something else?

Kamon didn't know. But he resolved to find out.


	35. Chapter 35: Totodile

Totodile stood outside the Violet City PokéMart with the rest of Silver's team, keeping watch for sages.

That boy Kamon – who Totodile liked to think of as his REAL trainer – had alerted the Sprout Tower elder about Silver stealing Totodile. Totodile had been grateful to his would-be trainer for that. He'd assumed that the elder would contact the police, and they would capture Silver. Then Totodile would be returned to the lab, or released to the wild, where he could track down and get his painful revenge on Theo.

Except the Sprout Tower elder had commanded his sages to retrieve Silver instead. The police hadn't been involved at all. And Totodile was now realizing that whatever the sages knew about enlightenment and Bellsprouts, they knew very little about capturing thieves.

Now Totodile stood with the rest of Silver's team outside the Violet City PokéMart. The Zubat he'd helped capture in Dark Cave soared above them. Floating next to Totodile was Gastly, the newest addition to the team. Gastly had been caught in Sprout Tower, right before Kamon discovered them and Silver had to escape.

Now Silver was inside the PokéMart restocking on Potions. Totodile, Zubat and Gastly were standing outside, keeping a lookout for sages. Or rather, Totodile was keeping a lookout. Zubat was busy fretting about the fact that they were all wanted criminals, and Gastly was staring at Totodile with a dopey expression on his face.

"I'm just so worried," Zubat cried. "What if the sages track our master down? They probably know all kinds of obscure powerful battle techniques. And master will order us to fight back – that'll make us accessories to the crime!"

"Don't worry about it," Totodile sighed. "We're going to be fine."

"Easy for you to say!" Zubat cried. "You're five levels higher than Gastly and I! You'd probably survive in whatever kind of Pokémon jail they'd throw us in. I'd get murdered by some angry Steelix who wants my extra ground beef on Taco Night!"

"I like Taco Night!" said Gastly.

Totodile ignored them. No matter what he said, Zubat was going to panic about everything and Gastly was going to make idiotic, senseless statements. It was better to ignore them.

Totodile wondered if now was a good time to escape Silver once and for all. There was no love lost between Totodile and his master, and Zubat and Gastly sure wouldn't try to catch him. Silver had warned them against running when he went into the PokéMart. If they ran, he promised to "nail them right to the floor". Totodile was pretty sure he wasn't kidding.

But would Silver even have time to go after him? The boy still had to watch for the sages prowling Violet City, so he couldn't travel very fast. Not to mention he had two other Pokémon now. Would he really put too much effort into finding Totodile? It wasn't like they cared for each other.

Totodile looked inside the PokéMart. Silver was haggling with a clerk over the price of some Pokéballs. He wasn't looking this way…

Totodile's thoughts were interrupted by somebody's voice. Totodile turned and saw two Sprout Tower sages walking straight towards them, engaged in conversation.

"I'm just saying, I don't see why it has to be Bellsprout all the time," one sage said. "Couldn't we try training Oddish or something? Just to mix it up?"

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," said the other sage. "Bellsprout are _awesome."_

Totodile froze. He wasn't sure what to do. Should he go warn his trainer? Or was now the time to escape? He wanted to move, but his feet were stuck to the ground. And he didn't even know where he'd go…

Zubat made that decision for him.

"AAAAAHHH!" Zubat screamed. "Sages! SAGES! We have to go warn our master!"

"I know those sages!" Gastly cried happily. "They always make brownies in Sprout Tower for me. Except sometimes they'd say the brownies were for them, and I was eating all their food. Then they'd send their Bellsprout to attack me. Oh, the fun we all had! Hi guys, how's it going!?"

"RUN!" cried Zubat, and Gastly dutifully followed. Totodile hesitated for a moment, and then followed them inside the PokéMart. The sages paused for a moment, wondering about the strange behavior of the three Pokémon sitting outside the PokéMart.

Totodile, Zubat and Gastly ran up to the counter, where Silver was finishing paying for the Pokéballs. Their master regarded them with scorn. "What's the matter with all of you?"

"Bat!" Zubat cried. "Zu-bat! Bat! BAT!" He gestured to the door, flailing wildly.

Silver turned towards the front door, and saw the sages just about to walk inside. He swore loudly, and recalled all his Pokémon. In a quick flash of light, Totodile was back in his Pokéball.

Then Silver turned back to the clerk. "Is there a back door to this place!?"

"Yes," the clerk said. "But why would you…"

"Doesn't matter," Silver snapped. "I need to use it." The sages were walking through the door, examining a sign that advertised a sale on Antidotes.

"The back door's behind that shelf." The clerk gestured to an old door that was barricaded by a large shelf of Pokéballs. "We don't really use it, so we closed it off."

"Well I'm going to open it." Silver raced towards the door and tried to open it. He barely moved it five inches – the shelf was keeping it from opening the rest of the way.

Then Silver tried pushing at the shelf, to see if he could get it to move. The shelf made a harsh scraping noise, but only budged half an inch. Totodile watched his master in panic. The sages hadn't noticed the commotion at the back of the store, but any second now they would turn around and see them.

"We're going to be accessories!" Zubat moaned. "What have we done!? We acted as lookouts and helped a thief escape justice! We're going to jail and a gang of angry Machamp are going to shiv us!"

"I bet a shiv would float right through me!" Gastly added unhelpfully.

Silver panted, and gave up trying to move the shelf. He struggled with the door again, and was able to move it just a little farther.

"Hey!" one of the sages called out. "What's that kid doing back there!?"

Silver swore again. Totodile saw that the sages were between his master and the front door. They might be able to fight their way out, but all the commotion would likely alert more sages. Even worse, it might alert the police.

"That's the kid the elder told us to find!" one of the sages shouted. "Get him!"

Silver only had one option. He opened the door as far as he could, and began to push himself inside. The door opened wide enough that Silver could get his head and left arm through, and then he was stuck halfway. He tried to move forward, but his waist caught in the door.

"No way," Silver growled. "My career in crime is not going to end with me getting caught by bald men and a _door."_

Silver took off his belt and threw it aside. Then he took his Pokéballs and tossed them to the ground. Totodile rolled lazily along the ground, and saw the two sages walking quickly towards them. Maneuvering carefully, Silver was now able to twist himself through the rest of the doorway.

Totodiile's ball stopped rolling, and he saw that he had landed a little farther than Zubat and Gastly had. Zubat was saying a prayer to Arceus, and Gastly was babbling incoherently. All the rolling had made him dizzy.

Now that he was clear, Silver reached back through the doorway to collect his Pokéballs. He grabbed Zubat and put him in his jeans pocket, and he grabbed Gastly next. The sages were getting even closer, and they were still ordering Silver to stop.

Then Silver reached for Totodile. "I'm not leaving without you," Silver growled. "You're the reason I'm in this mess to begin with."

Silver pushed his upper body through the door frame, and awkwardly reached for Totodile. He reached as far as he could, but stopped short just a few inches from Totodile's Pokéball.

"Come on," Silver growled. "Come on, just a bit further!"

"He can't reach me," Totodile realized. "He'd have to crawl all the way back through the doorway. By then the sages would be here."

A strange feeling swept over him. "I'm free."

"Come on!" Silver shouted. "COME ON!"

Silver looked furious. Normally Totodile would be scared now. But it didn't matter to him anymore. Silver could be as angry as he wanted… in two minutes he wouldn't be Totodile's trainer anymore. He'd have to leave to avoid getting captured, and that would mean leaving Totodile behind. Whatever Silver did next, he wouldn't be Totodile's problem anymore. Just Gastly and Zubat…

Suddenly Totodile felt a pang of guilt.

"Totodile, move your Pokéball!" Silver shouted. "Run in your ball and roll it towards my hand! I can't reach you! Come on Totodile, move! What are you waiting for!? THAT'S A DIRECT ORDER!"

If Totodile left Silver now, he'd be free from him forever. He could track down Theo the Cyndaquil, or leave them all behind and start his own life elsewhere. He'd always wanted to visit Hoenn…

But that would mean leaving Zubat and Gastly behind to face Silver alone. Totodile was the only thing protecting them from their evil trainer. And once Totodile abandoned the team, Silver would take his anger out on Zubat and Gastly. Totodile didn't doubt that for a second.

It was all so unfair. Totodile hadn't wanted to stay with this horrible trainer. But he didn't want to leave Zubat and Gastly alone with him either. Abandoning them for his own chance at freedom wasn't all that different from what the Cyndaquil had done. And he knew firsthand how much that sense of betrayal really hurt…

That decided it. Totodile slowly rolled his Pokéball towards Silver's outstretched hand.

Silver grabbed him seconds before the two sages arrived, and pulled himself back through the doorframe. Then he shut the door behind him, and locked it. The two sages banged on the door, but Silver ignored them. He surveyed the storage room they were now standing in, and noticed a rusted door at the back with an 'exit' sign hanging over it. He raced out the door and was bathed in the warm Violet City sunlight.

"We need to get out of this city," Silver said. "We'll stay low and head for the Route 32 south exit. From there we'll make for Azalea Town. It's rich because it's close to Goldenrod City, but it's also got that small-town vibe. I hear they don't even lock their doors there."

With that Silver ran from the PokéMart, taking care to stick to side streets and back alleys. While they ran, Gastly turned in his Pokéball to speak with Totodile.

"It'll be fun to visit Azalea Town," he said. "A real adventure with the whole team!"

"Yeah," Totodile muttered. "Go team."


	36. Chapter 36: Theo

Theo happily followed his trainer out of the Violet City Gym.

The world seemed so much smaller now that he was a Quilava. The gym doors, the flowers growing nearby, and even his trainer. Theo came up to Kamon's knees now. He wondered how big he would get when he evolved again.

Theo looked over at the grey badge pinned to Kamon's jacket. _He_ had helped his trainer win that. He really was a good starter after all. He'd kept Chimer from killing Kamon, he'd known when to evolve at just the right time, and now he'd won his trainer his very first gym badge. Maybe Kamon wouldn't have been better off with Totodile after all.

Kamon's phone began to ring. Kamon opened his Pokégear to answer it, and Theo listened closely. He was pleased to notice that his hearing had improved as a Quilava.

Theo recognized Professor Elm's voice at once. "Hello, Kamon?"

"Hi Professor Elm," Kamon said. "You've actually called at a great time. I have some great news about Theo, and my gym challenges too. I managed to-"

"We've discovered something!" Professor Elm interrupted. "The details are…well, I can't really say anything, but we want you to carry that egg!"

"Ah!" Kamon's face went pale. "Right, the… um… egg. I remember that."

Theo felt just as guilty as his trainer did. After all, he might have stopped Kamon from smashing the egg to pieces during his trainer's ill-advised jump down the ledge back near the start of their journey. And Theo had helped Kamon pick out another egg to deceive the professor with. Theo felt his new confidence start to erode away. Kamon seemed to be losing his edge too; he was sounding like his old awkward self again.

"You wanted something about the egg…?" Kamon stammered. "Was it bad news?"

"Oh no," Professor Elm said. "My assistant is at the PokéMart in Violet City. Could you go meet him and pick up that egg?"

"Sure!" Kamon said, all too quickly. "No problem!"

"That's great!" Professor Elm said. He hung up the phone.

Kamon wiped sweat from his forehead and turned to Theo. "Okay, this is going to be fine. We're not in trouble or anything. Professor Elm doesn't suspect anything's wrong with that egg."

"Quil," Theo said dubiously. He wondered if Professor Elm would notice something was wrong when the egg hatched into… well, whatever it would hatch into. It could hatch into a Phione, for all they knew.

Kamon and Theo walked silently towards the Violet City PokéMart. Both of them were nervous about the egg they were going to receive. Their nerves intensified when they reached the Violet City PokéMart and saw it was covered with police tape. The patrons inside the store were being escorted outside by police officers.

"You'll have to come back tomorrow," the officer said. "We've received a report that a known Pokémon thief was just in this area. We need to check the store for clues and speak with witnesses. If you need to finish your shopping, go to the PokéMart in Cherrygrove City."

Next to a group of elderly ladies exiting the store, Theo noticed Professor Elm's assistant. A scrawny young man named Kevin; he was holding a multi-coloured Pokémon egg and was being removed forcefully by the police officer.

"But I can't leave the store!" Kevin cried. "I was told by Professor Elm to wait here and give a trainer this egg!"

"So wait outside," the officer said.

"I can't risk it!" Kevin protested. "If I mess up this assignment, Professor Elm's going to fire me. He already said he wants replace me with his Vileplume. He's doing a paper on Pokémon that do domestic chores. And the Vileplume makes better coffee than I do!"

"Sounds boring," the officer said.

"I can't be fired!" Kevin cried. "Working as a lab assistant is all I know! I don't have any other job skills! I'm not smart enough to be a full-fledged researcher, and I could never train Pokémon myself! Being in the outdoors makes my eyes watery!"

The police officer ignored Kevin. Kevin looked around in despair, and Theo felt sorry for him. He barked to get the assistant's attention.

"Hey Kevin!" Kamon waved. "I'm over here! You were looking for me?"

"Yes!" Kevin cried. "I'm so glad you're here! Long time no see, Kamon. I've been waiting for you. And is this… oh! Well, it certainly looks like Theo's changed for the better!"

"He sure has," Kamon said. "He evolved right before we got the Violet City Gym Badge. He fought really well in there."

Theo smiled up at Kamon. His trainer's praise always made him feel better.

"That sounds great," Kevin said. "But I'm actually here about this." Kevin took the egg in his hands and gave it to Kamon.

"This is from Professor Elm," Kevin said. "The thing is… we would like you to take care of an egg!"

Kamon looked conflicted at this. He looked at the egg in his hands, as though he was afraid it might explode.

"Turn him down," Theo thought. "You're already taking care of that egg Primo gave you – or technically I'm taking care of it. Kevin's egg is only around because you broke the first one! You can barely take care of one Pokémon egg, let alone two! And what happens when they hatch!?"

Kamon seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Kevin that's a really kind offer, but I don't know if I'm the trainer you want. I just received another Pokémon egg, so my attention's kind of all wrapped up in that… Maybe you could give that egg to Lyra? I bet she'd take good care of it."

Kevin looked like Kamon had struck him. "But… but you can't refuse!"

"Why not?" Kamon asked.

"Because Professor Elm will blame me!" Kevin cried. "He'll say I did a bad job of convincing you to accept the assignment, and then I'll get fired! I'll have to sleep in the street, and steal from shopkeepers to survive! I can't make it on the streets, Kamon!"

Kevin's despair was growing increasingly noisy. People were turning away from the police at the PokéMart, and starting to look over at Kamon and Kevin. Theo felt embarrassed for the both of them.

"Alright, fine," Kamon sighed. "I'll take the egg."

"Thank you so much!" Kevin's face lit up. "You saved me from having to beg in the street for food! You helped me keep my dignity!"

Kamon looked like he thought that ship had sailed a long time ago, but it would be rude to say so. Kevin continued to speak.

"After you left, Professor Elm received a phone call. I have no idea what they were talking about. But after a while, Professor Elm suddenly cried out, "I can't think of anyone more suited than Kamon!" Then he insisted that I hand this egg to you."

"Was that really how it happened?" Kamon asked.

Kevin shuffled his feet. "More or less. I may have embellished the truth a bit. Professor Elm didn't exactly insist I hand the egg to you… I kind of had to beg him for the assignment."

"Sorry to hear that," Kamon said.

"I also have to wax his car," Kevin said. "But basically, that's how I came here to deliver the egg to you. It seems that a Pokémon will hatch from it only when you keep it in your party of Pokémon."

"Plus you can't break it," Theo thought. "That's an important part of the hatching process."

"That's another reason we've chosen you, Kamon. From what I've seen, you have a strong, happy team of Pokémon. So anyway, please take care of the egg! If you don't, I'll probably lose my job!"

"Er… right. I'll do my best." Kamon smiled awkwardly. Theo knew that both he and Kamon would try their hardest to keep this egg from breaking too; Kevin's guilt trip could really get to you. Theo just wondered if their best efforts would be enough.

Kevin left the PokéMart crime scene, and Theo and Kamon were alone together. Kamon placed their new Pokémon egg in his backpack, right next to the old egg. Now that the panicky lab assistant was gone, Theo felt himself start to calm down. Maybe everything would work out. Kamon certainly wasn't going to try any cliff-jumping with two Pokémon eggs in his backpack. And Theo would keep watching the eggs twenty four hours a day. Maybe both eggs would turn out alright. Maybe they'd grow up to live long, happy, lives.

He was sure wrong about that.


	37. Chapter 37: Rocky

Rocky loved his new trainer.

He couldn't remember his name – it was an unusual name – so he just called him New Trainer. New Trainer was lots of fun. They wandered all throughout Violet City, and New Trainer promised that soon they would leave for other cities too. Rocky had never been to any other cities – he'd spent all his life in Union Cave until he was captured by Old Trainer and brought to Violet City. So the idea of new cities excited him.

"Oooonix!" Rocky roared happily. New Trainer looked up at him warily. He thought that New Trainer might've found Rocky's size intimidating. Rocky wondered if it would help if he licked New Trainer's face. He decided it wouldn't.

"You should like where we're going," New Trainer said. "We're going to visit your former trainer one last time."

"Nix?" Rocky was happy to visit Old Trainer, but he wasn't sure what this meant. Did New Trainer not like him? Had he been a bad Pokémon?

New Trainer seemed to have seen the worry on Rocky's gigantic face. "I'm not trading you back," he said quickly. "I'd have to be insane to want to go back on this trade. But I just want to be sure your former trainer is happy with my Bellsprout. Chimer had some serious problems, and I want to be sure your ex-trainer can deal with her."

"Oooonix," Rocky rumbled. He was pleased he wasn't being traded away again. He'd already gotten all excited about exploring the big open world.

"Besides, it should be nice for you to see your former trainer one last time," New Trainer said. "Come on, let's go."

Rocky followed New Trainer down the street to his old house. He had to move carefully, to keep from whacking anybody with his large tail. They hadn't gone far when a woman in a pretty green dress walked up to New Trainer. Her outfit was unlike anything Rocky had ever seen before.

"Me oh my…" The woman examined the two Pokémon eggs, which were visible through an open flap in New Trainer's backpack. "That egg must be…!"

"Do you know what Pokémon is inside?" New Trainer asked. "I got it from Mr. Pokémon, and Professor Elm ran some tests on it. Neither of them knew what it was."

The strange woman stepped closer. "I see. So it was handed from Mr. Pokémon to Professor Elm, then from Professor Elm to you. Now I get it…"

"That egg is truly an important egg." The woman smiled at New Trainer. "Please take care of it for me. Is that understood?"

"Uh… sure, absolutely," Rocky's trainer said. "I don't suppose you could tell me what species it is? I'm only asking because I'm curious…"

The woman ignored him. "I am counting on you." She turned around and walked away.

New Trainer sighed when she was gone, and he turned to Rocky. "Was that egg hers? Was she talking about the egg I broke, or the egg that I found in the mud? Or did she mean Primo's egg? This is all getting confusing." He sighed. "Oh well. We'll deal with this later. For now I'm just going to take you to your former owner and make sure he's doing alright with Chimer."

They continued to walk throught he streets of Violet City, and they soon found themselves at the small two-story house that had once been Rocky's home. New Trainer walked up to the door and knocked quietly. Soon Old Trainer opened the door.

"Kamon!" Old Trainer looked surprised. "What are you doing here? And look at that, you brought Rocky with you!"

"OOOOONIX!" Rocky roared happily in greeting. His old trainer laughed at that.

"I'm leaving Violet City today," New Trainer/Kamon said. "I got the Zephyr Badge from Violet City, and Rocky was a big help with that. I thought you might want to see him one last time before I left."

"Well I appreciate that." Old Trainer patted Rocky's massive head.

"Actually, there's something else," Kamon said. "I wanted to be sure things were going well with Chimer. I know she can be a real handful. I just wanted to make sure you were still happy with the trade."

"She has been a challenge," Old Trainer admitted. "But we'll cure that rebellious attitude of hers; it just takes time. Would you like to see her?"

"Ah… well…" Kamon stammered. "I don't know, I really do have to be going…"

"Her Pokéball's right inside," Old Trainer said. "Stay here and I'll go get her."

Rocky and Kamon had little choice but to stand outside and wait for Old Trainer to return with Chimer. Kamon hung his head as though he couldn't wait to leave. Rocky had only met Chimer very briefly during the trade, but he didn't see what Kamon was so upset about.

Old Trainer returned with a large Pokéball. He pressed the circular button in the middle and Chimer appeared in a flash of light.

She looked around and saw Rocky first. To be fair, he was sort of hard to miss. Then she looked past him and saw her former trainer.

"YOU!" Chimer cried. "You traitorous piece of garbage! I'm going to choke the life out of you-"

"Chimer!" Old Trainer cried angrily. "If you don't settle down right now, you'll spend the next six weeks on garbage detail!"

Rocky remembered garbage detail as a particularly unpleasant chore. Chimer didn't seem to like it any more than he did, and she calmed down quickly. Kamon continued to speak with Old Trainer to verify that he was still happy with the trade. Chimer made her way over to Rocky, muttering darkly about what she'd do to Kamon and her new trainer if given half the chance. Then she looked the large rock type up and down.

"So," she finally said. "You're my replacement."

"Yep!" Rocky nodded. "And you're my replacement too! Because we were traded!"

"Right," Chimer smirked. "Why don't we see which of our trainers got the better deal?"

Rocky was confused. He had no idea what the tiny Bellsprout was getting at.

"We'll fight each other," Chimer explained. "I'll take you out in one hit, and Kamon will kick himself for giving up a great Pokémon like me."

Rocky didn't fully understand what was going on, but he didn't think Kamon regretted giving up Chimer very much. From what he could see, his trainer didn't even like her.

"So come on then!" Chimer released a vine and swung it around her head menacingly. "What are you waiting for? Let's do this!"

Kamon turned to his Onix, and eyed Chimer's work with her vines. "Okay Rocky, we've said our goodbyes. It's time to go now."

Rocky turned around to face his trainer, and his tail swung through the air. It walloped Chimer with the force of a small car, and the Bellsprout went flying through the air. She landed in the shrubs outside Old Trainer's house.

"I'm glad Chimer's working out for you." Kamon shook Old Trainer's hand. "Thanks again for the trade."

"Do you want to say goodbye to your Bellsprout?" Old Trainer asked. "She… hmmm, where did she go?"

"It doesn't matter," Kamon said. "Tell her I said goodbye." Chimer was hidden in the bushes, knocked out cold. Rocky tried to look small and inconspicuous, and failed spectacularly at it.

With that, Rocky followed his trainer south beyond Violet City. They walked down a sunny path through a small forest, making their way down Route 32. Kamon promised Rocky that eventually they would come to a large lake where they could learn to fish. Rocky didn't like the idea of that, and he was pleased when they didn't find the lake that day.

Around sunset, Kamon stopped to make camp beside a group of ancient birch trees. Violet City's skyline was barely visible in the distance. Kamon set up camp and released his two other Pokémon. Theo cried out happily upon being released, and Walnut wagged his tail. Then the two Pokémon got to work preparing the campsite. Theo started a campfire, and Walnut gathered sticks for it. Rocky wasn't sure what to do, and Kamon was too busy picking out dinner to give him an assignment. So he followed Walnut out into the forest, where the Sentret was collecting piles of sticks.

"Hi there!" Rocky said. "We haven't had a chance to get to know each other yet. My name's Rocky!"

"Nice to meet you," Walnut said. "Do you mind giving me a hand gathering firewood here?"

Rocky was happy to help out a member of his new team, especially one that looked like a gigantic cuddly fur ball. He searched the forest floor for sticks that were the right size for their fire. But all he found was a boulder larger than Walnut.

"Does this help?" Rocky asked Walnut. When the Sentret shook his tiny head, Rocky was disappointed. Rather than toss the rock away, Rocky simply swallowed the boulder. He was a rock type, so eating smaller rocks was just part of his diet. This rock tasted minty.

Walnut now looked at Rocky with a mixture of confusion and fascination. "What did you just do?"

"Oh that?" Rocky asked. "Rock Pokémon eat all kinds of smaller rocks. We can eat jewels too, but those are really hard to come by. I ate a ruby once and my tongue practically melted. Rock Pokémon have really strong digestive systems, so we can pretty much eat whatever we want."

"That is the coolest thing I've ever seen," Walnut said. And just like that, Rocky had made his first friend on Kamon's team. The two Pokémon gathered the firewood, and returned to the campsite.

After the group had dinner, Kamon allowed them all to sleep outside of their Pokéballs for the night. Rocky curled up in a patch of grass. The air smelled cleaner outside of Violet City, and the stars were brighter without the city's air pollution. He was excited to find out where they would go tomorrow. That was the best part of a Pokémon journey; all the amazing places you could explore.

Rocky stayed up looking at the stars long after Kamon, Theo and Walnut had gone to sleep. After a few hours, his gaze was broken by a faint rustling in the bushes. Rocky looked over at the line of trees on the edge of their campsite. Something was moving out there.

Was it a wild Pokémon? Rocky stood up and quietly made his way towards the rustling grass. Kamon would be excited if Rocky defeated a wild Pokémon all by himself. Maybe Rocky would keep the wild Pokémon from eating all their food, and he'd be a hero!

Rocky looked into the tall grass, and found himself face to face with the wild Pokémon that had been watching them. He was disappointed with what he found.

It was a Rattata.

"Hello!" Rocky said. "You're a dirty little guy, aren't you? You're all covered in mud."

"I've been tracking your trainer down for three weeks!" Rattata growled. "I've waded through mud that was ten feet deep, a passing trainer stepped on me, and I was attacked by an extremely violent Ledyba!"

"Well that's too bad!" Rocky smiled sympathetically. "Are you hungry, little guy?"

"Yeah!" Rattata cried. "Hungry for revenge!" He pointed over at Kamon. "That stupid Cyndaquil trainer is going down!"

Rocky looked confused. "You mean Kamon? He doesn't train a Cyndaquil anymore. He did, but it evolved. It's a Quilava now. It's sleeping right over there."

Rattata paled when he saw the large fire type sleeping at its owner's feet. "And… you're one of this trainer's Pokémon too?"

"Yep!" Rocky grinned happily. "Why do you ask?"

Rattata shook his head. "It doesn't matter! I'll take you all down if I have to! I've come too far to give up now. Your trainer is going to regret ever getting in my way!"

Rocky cocked his head sideways. "What does that mean?"

"It means I'm going to go attack your trainer and there's nothing you can do about it," Rattata growled. He began to walk towards Kamon. "It's finally time for my revenge. After countless defeats and humiliation, I'm finally going to-"

Rocky sat on him.

He didn't know what else to do. He was afraid a big battle would wake up his teammates, plus he felt kind of bad for the small purple rat. He didn't want to hurt it if he could avoid it. It looked like it had been through a lot.

So Rocky curled up and went to sleep right on the spot, ignoring Rattata's muffled protests. Though the tiny Rattata-shaped lump was uncomfortable to sleep on, Rocky was still able to get a good night's rest without squishing Rattata too badly. Kamon woke up the next morning and recalled Rocky to his Pokéball. Kamon never noticed the dazed Rattata lying in the dirt.

Rocky stared at the world through his Pokéball as Kamon continued to walk south. He was going off on an adventure. And everything was going to be just great.


	38. Chapter 38: Walnut

Walnut liked yellow apricorns the best.

Of all the apricorns he'd tried thus far, yellow ones had the most kick to them. Green apricorns were nice and juicy, but he was used to their flavour after years of eating them on Route 29. Black apricorns were sweet, but sometimes they were too sweet for his liking. And pink apricorns were a little bland, though if they were really ripe they had a nice crunch to them.

But yellow apricorns were delicious. Walnut had only first tried them a couple of days ago, when Kamon began starting his journey through Route 32. He'd picked a few from a tree they'd passed, and set them aside for Walnut to eat. Walnut had felt a little guilty that he was getting more food than everyone else, but Kamon explained to him that eating the apricorns kept Walnut from chewing on Kamon's shoes. Walnut supposed that was true.

But now he was eating his last apricorn. They hadn't seen another apricorn tree in a couple days, and this was his last one. It had taken all his willpower to save it for this long.

Walnut looked around the campsite. Kamon was curled up in his sleeping bag, and Theo was sleeping at his feet. Rocky was stretched out by the remains of the campfire. Kamon had recently started to allow his team to sleep out of their Pokéballs during the night. Supposedly it helped with bonding.

Walnut swallowed the remains of the yellow apricorn, and found he was still hungry. He looked around the campsite, but the remains of the night's dinner (baked beans and canned corn) had been finished and the cans thrown away. Walnut's stomach growled. He was always hungry like this.

Walnut tiptoed over to his trainer. Kamon was tossing in his sleep, but that was nothing new. He was muttering something in his sleep, but Walnut couldn't make it out until he got very close.

"…train it, evolve it, befriend it…" Kamon muttered. "…train it, evolve it, befriend it…"

Walnut wasn't sure what Kamon meant by that, but something about the whole thing made his fur stand on end. When that happened, the quickest thing to calm him down was a nice meal. He scurried off to find Kamon's backpack, in search of something edible. That wouldn't be too hard – for Walnut pretty much everything was edible. His standards were pretty low.

However even Walnut was disappointed by what he found. After the thievery crisis closed off the Violet City PokéMart, Kamon hadn't been able to restock on Potions. As a result, Walnut found Kamon's medicine pouch in his backpack was completely empty. Walnut's stomach rumbled in disappointment.

"Well that's no reason to give up," Walnut told himself. "Keep searching; there must be something here."

Walnut rummaged through the bag, his little nose sniffing around. He was discouraged at first, but then he rooted out a small blue rectangular object.

It was Kamon's Vs. Recorder. His trainer used it to record Pokémon battles.

Of course Walnut knew he couldn't eat this. The Vs. Recorder was expensive – you couldn't buy it in stores. Not to mention it had been a gift from Kamon's friend Lyra. Walnut knew that made the Vs. Recorder special for Kamon. And yet, Walnut hadn't seen Kamon actually use the Vs. Recorder yet. Maybe he'd forgotten he owned it. And if so, wasn't it Walnut's duty to put the item to good use?

Walnut felt horribly guilty about what he was considering. This item was extremely important to his trainer. But he found that as conflicting as his guilt was, it didn't keep him from biting down on the Vs. Recorder, tearing off its metallic screen, and swallowing it.

Walnut felt a deep sense of remorse and shame. Then he burped, and continued eating.

"This is wrong," he thought to himself. "Wrong and… oh, that has a great kick to it. Wrong and traitorous and… oh, this tastes even better than Kamon's running shoes."

Walnut continued to eat. He only stopped when Kamon's rustling behind him grew louder.

"..train it, evolve it, befriend it. Train it, evolve it, befriend it. Train it… GAH!"

Kamon woke up with a scream. He looked around in fear for a moment, and realized he was free from his nightmare. Then he heard the rustling over by his backpack, and peered out in the darkness.

"Who's out there?" Kamon asked.

Walnut froze. He dropped the Vs. Recorder to his feet. Its screen was half-devoured and it had several wires exposed. Now Walnut's satisfaction from filling his stomach was mostly gone, and shame began to take over.

Walnut whimpered in shame. He had betrayed his trainer. Kamon would never put his trust in him again…

Kamon climbed out of his sleeping bag and stepped closer. "Walnut? What are you doing? What's that at your feet?"

Then his eyes adjusted in the darkness. "The Vs. Recorder…? What happened to it?"

Suddenly Walnut had a great idea. He pointed at a blade of grass, and then at himself.

"What are you saying?" Kamon asked sleepily. "Grass and… you? Grass and Sentrets? Grass and Pokémon? Grass Pokémon?"

Walnut nodded furiously. He hoped Kamon understood what he was getting at.

"You're saying a grass Pokémon did this!" Kamon said. "A grass type broke the Vs. Recorder. Hey, was it Chimer? Did she do it while I visited her to say goodbye?"

Walnut nodded again. He felt guilty, but not quite guilty enough to stop lying.

"It must have been those vines of hers," Kamon shook his head. "That Bellsprout is seriously disturbed. Ah well, she's out of our lives now. Thanks for telling me about this, Walnut."

Walnut gave his owner a small grin. Inside he felt deeply ashamed… and still hungry. That just made everything worse.

"It's too bad… that gift really meant a lot to me. I was going to save battles on it and show them to Lyra, to show her how I liked her gift."Kamon sighed. "Nothing we can do about it now, though. Let's go back to bed."

Walnut followed Kamon back to his sleeping bag. As Kamon climbed inside, Walnut curled up near his trainer's head. He hadn't been proud of what he'd just done. Whatever else Chimer had been, it wasn't fair for Walnut to blame his mistakes on her. He'd need to get control on this overeating of his. It was driving him to do embarrassing things… and it was starting to hurt the people around him.

Walnut closed his eyes with a look of concern, while his stomach continued to rumble.


	39. Chapter 39: Kamon

"Welcome to the Ruins of Alph!" Kamon announced.

Theo squeaked. Ever since he evolved, his squeaks were much deeper. Kamon reached down and patted his head. Theo's new size had taken some getting used to, but the Quilava was still positively tiny compared to Rocky. Kamon's food bills had tripled feeding his new Onix. It was times like this that he was glad Walnut would eat anything under the sun.

It had taken them all day to find the ruins, and they only entered the excavated site at around dusk. Kamon was using Theo's flames to light the way, and it wasn't working very well. He wished one of his Pokémon could use Flash, but nobody in his party could learn the move. He'd tried teaching Theo to use Flash once, but the Quilava just sneezed in his face. The only Pokémon he'd ever owned that could use Flash was Chimer, and Kamon wasn't about to head down _that_ road again.

The ground at the Ruins of Alph was uneven, and half-excavated ancient huts dominated the landscape. Archaeology tools had been strewn everywhere, and it was hard to avoid tripping over them. Kamon scanned the Ruins of Alph until he saw a building that looked like it had been built more recently. It couldn't have been over twenty years old, and there was a light in the window.

"That must be where the Ruins of Alph's scientists live," Kamon said. "There are all kinds of rumours about this place. I doubt half of them are true, but checking out these ruins could still be a good training experience. I bet Rocky would like to explore some of the deeper parts of the ruins, don't you Theo?"

Theo squeaked in agreement. Kamon patted the Quilava's head again.

Theo followed his trainer loyally, and Kamon figured the fire type didn't suspect the second reason that they were stopping off at the Ruins of Alph. Lately Kamon's dreams had been growing more and more unbearable. Whatever the strange creature in his dreams was, it seemed to be getting annoyed with him for some reason. The dreams were louder now, and the mysterious creature was growing angrier. It would now should "Train it, evolve it, befriend it" from dusk until dawn, and Kamon would wake up with a raging headache. Part of the reason for Kamon wanting to travel after dark was that he wasn't eager to fall asleep.

At the same time, Kamon had heard rumours about legendary psychic Pokémon living in the Ruins of Alph. It could all just be a coincidence, but he wasn't about to pass up the chance to get a powerful psychic type that might help him with his problem. Maybe the legendary Pokémon in the ruins were connected somehow to his mystery Pokémon… or it could just be a coincidence. The Ruins of Alph might have nothing to do with the Mystery Pokémon at all. They had been here for over a thousand years, after all.

Lost in thought, Kamon made his way towards the small building. He entered and found a group of scientists sitting at desks. One scientist looked up at him in surprise.

"Good evening," said the scientist. "We don't get many visitors here, and certainly not at this hour. How can I help you?"

"My Pokémon and I were hoping to explore the ruins." Kamon smiled at the scientist. "We're really interested to see what's going on in these ruins."

"Well that's nice!" the scientist replied. "It's smart of a young trainer to take an interest in history. There's always something to learn."

He smiled wistfully, eager to have an attentive audience. "We've been conducting research at the Ruins of Alph for months now. The civilization that lived here is extremely interesting, you know. There are odd patterns drawn on the walls of the ruins. They must be the keys for unraveling the mystery of the ruins."

"What mystery is that?" Kamon asked.

"The Unown, of course!" the scientist smiled. "I've been thinking of writing a book about them!"

"You're studying the unknown?" Kamon asked. "Isn't that kind of… vague?"

"Oh no, that's the Pokémon's name," the scientist clarified. "It's official name is 'Unown'. And my team of scientists is studying them. They're a fascinating species."

"Really?" Kamon asked. "Are they the legendary Pokémon that I heard live here?"

"Well…" the scientist paused. "I suppose you could call them legendary Pokémon if you wanted. They have characteristics similar to a legendary being, and they certainly have some kind of unique power. On the other hand, there are hundreds of Unown all throughout the ruins. Generally legendary Pokémon exist in very small numbers. Unown also lack the individual strength that most legendary Pokémon boast, though they have more power in groups."

"Hold on," Kamon had only really paid attention to the middle part. "Are you saying there are hundreds of Unown, just lying all over the place?"

"Well they float," the scientist said. "But in principle yes, there are plenty around here. If you search the lower levels of the Ruins of Alph, you should be able to find them easily. They're quite approachable."

"Great!" Kamon suddenly had a new idea for overcoming his dream troubles. "And would you mind if I captured one?"

Now the scientist looked worried. "I suppose I wouldn't mind… but I'm not sure if a single Unown is an appropriate Pokémon for a trainer's team. They are most powerful in groups, you know."

"Don't worry about that," Kamon smiled. "I have a Sentret and an Onix that are both happy with me, not to mention Theo here. I have two Pokémon eggs too, so there are going to be other members to the team soon enough. I know my Pokémon, and they'll work to make sure the Unown feels like a part of the team."

"That's not what I'm worried about…" the scientist fretted. "Still, it would be nice for one of the Unown to become a member of a trainer's party. That almost never happens to them, you know."

"Great," said Kamon, who had completely failed to grasp the scientist's implication. "That just means that nobody will expect me to use one. It'll be a great secret weapon."

"I suppose that's true," the scientist said. "If you're sure about catching an Unown, you might want to try the lower levels of the Ruins of Alph. You can access them through the ancient houses outside."

"That's great," Kamon said. "Come on Theo, we're going to go catch a legendary Pokémon!"

Theo grinned in excitement. The scientist looked like he wanted to correct Kamon, but then he remained silent.

"Thanks for your help," Kamon said as he headed for the door. "This is going to be great. I'm really feeling good about this!"

Kamon left the building and headed towards the ancient stone huts. Somewhere inside was his very own Unown. He was going to catch a legendary Pokémon with only a single gym badge. How many trainers could say that? Maybe the Unown would even help with his dreaming problem.

Feeling truly confident about his journey for the first time in weeks, Kamon walked towards the hut. He couldn't wait to meet the Unown. They were going to be the greatest Pokémon _ever._


	40. Chapter 40: Rocky

Rocky liked the Ruins of Alph.

He'd been hoping to see amazing places throughout his journeys with Kamon, and the Ruins of Alph was a great start. The ruins stuck out of the ground like the faint whispers of the civilization that had once lived here. It made the whole place seem wonderfully spooky. Rocky was so excited about his fun journey that he wagged his tail.

That proved to be a mistake. Rocky's tail crashed right into a fifteen hundred year old building. Rubble fell from the building's wall, and several pronounced cracks appeared.

"Oops," said Rocky.

Kamon looked over at Rocky and sighed. "Rocky, I thought you'd like exploring the ruins. But if you're going to break things, I'll have to return you to your Pokéball. It's important that we spend time here, and I don't want us to get kicked out."

Rocky promised that he would be more careful. He kept this promise for a good thirty seconds, until they passed the next fifteen hundred year old hut.

"Oops," said Rocky, again.

After that, Kamon had to held Rocky navigate carefully through the ruins, so that the large snake didn't destroy any more priceless traces of ancient civilizations. Rocky followed Kamon into one of the larger huts, and found himself in a dark room adorned with ancient statues. Rocky wasn't sure, but he thought the statues looked something like Rhydons. Were these the Unown that Kamon was searching for?

"Do we just head down the stairs?" Kamon wondered. "Where do we-"

A female scientist stepped out of the shadows. "My colleagues told me you're searching for the Unown. You have to prove yourself to them first," she explained.

Kamon looked at the scientist in confusion.

"The Unown will only show themselves to a trainer with a strong mind." The scientist gestured to an ancient table, with several pieces of rubble scattered across it. "If you can assemble the puzzle, you will be able to unlock the chamber and summon the Unown."

"Alright," Kamon stepped towards the puzzle. "This shouldn't be too hard. Rocky, maybe you can help me. Come over here and tell me what you see."

Rocky leaned towards the puzzle. Unfortunately the massive Onix then breathed too hard, and scattered four puzzle pieces all over the floor. Kamon sighed and bent over to pick them up.

"On second thought Rocky, maybe you'd better watch from back there. You know, for moral support."

Rocky had no problem with that. He stood by the hut's doorway, watching as Kamon assembled the puzzle pieces. His trainer was quick about it. In a matter of minutes, the puzzle pieces had transformed into a striking image of a Kabuto. For a second, Rocky could have sworn the puzzle glowed a dim white.

"Congratulations," the scientist said. "You've solved the puzzle, and now the Unown will be willing to meet you.

Rocky regarded the ladder dubiously. Devoid of any hands or feet, if he climbed the ladder it would be awkward at best and painful at worst. That was assuming he could even fit through the hole in the ground.

Kamon seemed to share Rocky's concerns. He recalled the rock type back to his Pokéball, and then moved towards the ladder. Then he turned back to the scientist. "How do I find the Unown?"

"They'll make themselves known," the scientist said. "Very soon, I expect."

Rocky wasn't sure what she meant by that. He turned back to his trainer, and saw to his shock that Kamon was starting to fade away before his eyes. Rocky blinked. He couldn't be seeing this right. He looked away, but then saw his own tail was starting to fade as well.

Within ten seconds, both Rocky and Kamon had disappeared. They rematerialized on a lower, underground level of the Ruins of Alph. Strange hieroglyphics adorned the walls, and another scientist was examining them closely. When he saw Rocky and Kamon appear, he looked over at them.

"Did you just come down from above…?" he asked.

Kamon nodded.

"So! You must be the one who solved the stone-panel puzzle! That is wonderful!"

"Happy to help," Kamon said. "Was it the Unown that teleported us here?"

"An intelligent observation. You seem to have some talent with archaeology," the scientist said. "I will give you this Unown Report. It records Unown as you capture them. I am sure it'll come in handy!"

"That's great," Kamon said. "But why would I need to record all the different Unown that I capture?"

"To keep track of them!" the scientist said. "There are 28 types, after all!"

Kamon blinked. "I was really only looking to catch one for my team…"

"You're actually planning to train one?" The scientist looked surprised. Rocky reflected that this wasn't the first scientist who seemed surprised by Kamon's intent to train an Unown.

"I wish you the best of luck with that." The scientist smiled, and bid Kamon goodbye.

When the scientist was gone, Kamon released the rest of his team. Theo and Walnut appeared in bursts of light, and examined the strange ruins. Then Kamon addressed the group.

"Okay team, it's time to find ourselves some Unown. Now we need to be alert – we don't know what to expect here. We know the Unown can teleport us, and they're powerful enough to be the focal point of these ruins and all those scientists' research.

Kamon's face was stern. "I'll be honest here – I think we might be facing our toughest opponent ever. So be alert, because we don't know when or how-"

"Unoooown…" said a voice. Something was floating down the corridor towards them.

"This is it!" Kamon cried. "Okay Rocky, we'll send you out first. I want to use your defenses to get an idea of what this thing's capable of."

"Unoooown." The Unown floated into view. Rocky gazed at it dimly. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't _that._

The Unown was a small grey creature, made up of two small circles, one atop the other. The upper circle contained a single eye. The Unown stared vacantly at Kamon's team. Theo and Walnut looked at each other in confusion. Rocky imagined they had been expecting something different as well.

"Use Tackle!" Kamon ordered. Rocky charged at the Unown and rammed his head into it. The Unown went spinning backwards, and then released a blast of white light.

Rocky prepared for the blast – who knew what this thing was capable of? But when the attack hit, it did little more than tingle. Had Rocky's training really been that good? Did he actually stand a chance at defeating a legendary Pokémon?

"Use another Tackle!" Kamon shouted. Rocky smashed the Unown with his head again, and it responded with another strange white blast. This one tingled even less than the previous one. Rocky figured the Unown was trying to give him false confidence. Well he wasn't about to fall for that – he wouldn't let his guard down that easily.

Kamon reached for his Pokédex and scanned the Unown. What he saw made him nearly drop the Pokédex in shock.

"Rocky… this thing's got maybe a tenth of its health left! What did you do to it!? Did you get two critical hits in a row, or something!?"

Rocky had no earthly idea. He turned to face Kamon, and his tail crashed against the side of the wall. Several ancient hieroglyphics were now unreadable.

"Oops," said Rocky. Luckily Kamon barely noticed it. He had reached for a Pokéball, and was now aiming at the Unown.

"Here we go," Kamon said. "I'm going to try to catch a legendary Pokémon. I can't believe I'm actually doing this!"

He threw the Pokéball at the Unown. Rocky bit his lip, waiting for the ball to shake… but it didn't. The ball closed immediately and the Unown was still. It had been captured.

Rocky looked at the ball for a second. He was dimly aware of Theo and Walnut staring at him in shock. That couldn't be right. It had been so easy…

"WE DID IT!" Kamon cried. Rocky had never seen his trainer express that much emotion in his life. "We caught a legendary Pokémon! We've only been training for a few weeks and we've already got a legendary! You were amazing Rocky; I couldn't have done it without you!"

Something about the whole experience didn't sit right with Rocky. He was no genius, but he was pretty sure catching a legendary Pokémon took more effort than that. Maybe all the stories just made the process seem overly dramatic, but Rocky still thought something was wrong. If catching a legendary Pokémon was this easy, why didn't everybody catch them?

"This is great!" Kamon cried. "Our very own Unown! I'm going to call it Beta! We should send Beta out to fight some other Unown… or wait! I have a better idea! Let's save it until we fight a trainer! Beta can be our secret weapon. How do you like the sound of that, guys?"

Theo and Walnut were watching from the sidelines, and they seemed to share Rocky's reservations. Something wasn't right here…

But Kamon didn't pay any attention to that. He walked out of the Ruins of Alph with a big grin, holding Beta the Unown's Pokéball in his hands. Reluctantly, Rocky followed him. Maybe the rocky type was making a big fuss out of nothing. Maybe the Unown would turn out to be a one-way ticket to the Championship.

It wouldn't, of course.


	41. Chapter 41: Kamon

Kamon wondered if going without sleep all night had been a mistake.

He concluded that it had. The team had stayed late at the Ruins of Alph, and hadn't caught Beta until well after midnight. Now it was just after sunrise, and Theo, Walnut and Rocky were dozing happily in their Pokéballs. Beta was staring listlessly up at its new trainer. Kamon didn't even know if the Unown slept… or even if it ate.

These were all things he was looking forward to finding out. Maybe he could use Beta to communicate with his other Pokémon telepathically. Maybe Beta could lift things with its mental powers.

But there was one thing Kamon wasn't looking forward to finding out… if Beta could help stop his nightmares. At the onset, the plan to capture a legendary Pokémon to stop his dreams had seemed like a great idea. Now he was nervous to actually test his theory, mainly because it was the only theory he had. If this didn't work, he'd… actually, Kamon had no idea what he'd do if this didn't work. That was why he was so nervous to try it.

And now he trudged through the grasses of Route 32, with absolutely no sleep and a bad headache. Every step sent a fresh throb of pain through his head.

Kamon needed something to take his mind off the dreams. He decided to test out his newest Pokémon. He'd promised himself that he wouldn't try Beta out on any old wild Pokémon. A Pokémon as amazing as Beta deserved to be tested out in a trainer battle.

Now he just had to find a trainer. Not many were up this early in the morning. Kamon walked through the fields of Route 32 for over an hour, searching for another trainer.

Finally he found a kid standing in a field. The kid waved at Kamon and walked towards him. Kamon didn't like the mean expression on the kid's face. The kid surveyed the Pokéballs on Kamon's belt, and Kamon cupped his hand over Beta's Pokéball. No sense spoiling the surprise.

"I haven't seen you around before," the trainer said. "So you think you're pretty tough?"

"My Pokémon are," Kamon replied. "Want to see for yourself?"

"I'm going to kick your butt," the kid laughed. "Go Rattata!"

Kamon winced as the small purple rat appeared. This Rattata had nothing to do with the Rattata that was stalking him of course, but Kamon still wasn't a fan of the species in general. His little stalker Rattata had turned him off of the species as a whole. Still, he would defeat it easily enough.

"Go Beta!" Kamon threw his Pokéball in the air. His newest Pokémon appeared in a burst of light.

"That's right," Kamon thought. "You're fighting a trainer with a legendary Pokémon. If you want to surrender right now, I'll understand. It's not every day that…"

The trainer had started to laugh.

He pointed at Beta and collapsed to his knees in hysterics. He pointed a shaky hand at Beta, and wiped a tear from his eye.

"You actually caught an Unown!?" he cried. "And you're training it!? Are you the dumbest trainer alive!?"

"You're just jealous," Kamon said with an air of confidence that he would not have two minutes later.

"Nobody trains Unown!" the trainer cried. "Why do you think none of the trainers around here have them? Why do you think there are so many over in the ruins?"

"You have to solve the puzzle…" Kamon said defensively.

"The puzzle is a joke!" the kid cried. "You have to fit six pieces together, and then the tiny Alphabet Soup Pokémon will come out to play with you! Why in the name of Arceus would you actually catch those things!?"

"They're legendary!" Kamon protested.

"No they're not!" the kid replied. "They're pathetic!"

"We'll see about that," Kamon replied. "Beta, use Hidden Power!"

"Rattata, use Tackle!" the trainer ordered.

The Rattata raced at Beta, and rammed itself right into the Unown. Beta glowed faintly, and then released a burst of white light at the Rattata. The Rattata braced itself, but the beam of light went straight through it.

"What just happened!?" Kamon cried.

"Hidden Power changes its move depending on the Pokémon!" the trainer laughed. "It looks like your Unown got a ghost attack!"

That wasn't good. Kamon thought for a moment about what to do next.

"Quick Attack!" the trainer shouted. Rattata ran at Beta and sent the small Pokémon flying backwards with one blow.

"There's nothing I can do," Kamon thought. "Hidden Power is the only attack Beta knows."

"Use another Tackle!" the trainer cried. He seemed to really be enjoying this.

The final Tackle attack knocked Beta out. Its eye rolled backwards and it fell to the ground. Reluctantly, Kamon recalled it.

"That was pathetic!" the trainer cried. "You fought with one of the most useless Pokémon in the world, and you didn't even know how pathetic it was! That's just sad!"

Kamon gritted his teeth. The trainer wanted to see useless? That was just fine. He'd fight this jerk with another Pokémon; one whose strength had been proven a hundred times over.

"Theo, use Ember!" Kamon threw the Pokéball in the air.

The trainer stopped laughing when Theo appeared and gave a loud roar. Then the fire type released his Ember attack, fainting the Rattata in one blow.

"What the…" the trainer was furious that his gloating had been interrupted. "Go Zubat!"

Theo released another Ember at the Zubat, and it fainted in a single hit. The trainer was out of Pokémon.

"You're strong," he growled. He tossed some bills at Kamon's feet, and stalked off towards the bushes.

Theo ran over to Kamon, and Kamon patted the Quilava's head absent-mindedly. This had been the most embarrassing experience of his entire Pokémon journey. It was even worse than that time he broke Mr. Pokémon's egg. It didn't matter that Theo had beaten the trainer's entire team – Kamon already _knew_ his Quilava was strong. It was Beta that had been a complete letdown… and the Unown wasn't to blame at all. Kamon had been over-confident, and hadn't thought things through.

Of course no legendary would be that easy to catch. Of course hundreds of legendaries wouldn't just float around the Ruins of Alph, right next to the very first Johto Gym. Everything had been so obvious, but he had completely ignored it.

That left the question of what to do with Beta now. Should he just release the Unown, or take it back to the Ruins of Alph? He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Should he keep the Unown on the team? He couldn't see that ending well.

Kamon yawned. After nearly thirty six hours of no sleep, he wasn't in any position to be making serious decisions about the future of his team. He couldn't travel any farther without sleeping first – the problem with Beta had sapped the remainder of his energy. Kamon set up camp, mindful of the fact that it was just after eight in the morning, and then curled up into his sleeping bag and fell asleep. The letdown with Beta had completely exhausted him, and he was out like a light in two minutes.

Kamon's Pokémon dozed in their Pokéballs alongside their trainer. The dazed Beta recovered in its Pokéball after its dismal first battle, but it did not fall asleep. And as Kamon slept, a curious thing happened. For the first time in several weeks, he didn't have a single dream.

When he woke up six hours later, refreshed and restored, he knew Beta would be staying on the team.


	42. Chapter 42: Beta

"Okay everyone, we should have done this a lot earlier. Let's welcome Beta to the team!" Kamon announced.

Everybody crowded around Beta. The Unown floated in the air, eyeing the group of Pokémon uneasily.

"I thought you might want to get to know each other better," Kamon said. "Don't mind me; I won't understand what you say anyways."

The Sentret stepped forward first. "Hi there, Beta." He waved his paw at the psychic type. "My name's Walnut, and I think it's great that you're going to be on the team!"

"Why did our trainer _catch_ this thing?" the Onix whispered to the Quilava. Or rather he had attempted to whisper, his voice was so loud that everybody in the vicinity heard him. Unfortunately this included Beta.

"This is not fair," Beta thought. "This is not how I imagined a team would work. First I was not introduced to my new teammates, then I was trounced in battle against a Rattata of all things, and now my new teammates do not even like me."

Beta decided to try introducing itself. "Hello, new teammates! My name is Beta, and I will be your newest team member." Beta looked over to its trainer for support, but Kamon was busy organizing his backpack and was leaving the Pokémon to be acquainted on their own. Beta coughed. "Perhaps you all might tell me about yourselves? I'd be very curious to learn about you."

When nobody else moved, the Quilava stepped forward. He looked like he'd rather not speak, but he cleared his throat and introduced himself.

"I'm Theo," he said. "I'm from New Bark Town, and I was Kamon's starter. I've only evolved just recently. My hobbies are… well, I help take care of Kamon's two Pokémon eggs, I guess. That's harder than it looks. I'm a pretty good battler, so if you ever need somebody to tag out with in a fight, you can come to me."

Beta couldn't deny Theo's skill in battle. It had seen how Theo had effortlessly trounced the Rattata after it had fainted Beta. Walnut stepped forward next.

"You already know I'm Walnut," the Sentret said. "I come from Route 29, and I was Kamon's first capture. I'm a bit of a gourmand. I have very refined tastes."

"Gourmand's not the word for it," Theo interrupted. "And you don't have refined tastes at all. One time you tried swallowing my Pokéball. Pokémon that swallow their teammates don't get to call themselves gourmands."

"That was an accident," Walnut grumbled. "I thought we went over that."

Beta made a mental note never to get too close to Walnut during dinner time. The Unown didn't need to eat, but it understood that other Pokémon used meals to bond socially. And Beta was certainly interested in learning how to improve its social skills. What passed for manners among its fellow Unown didn't seem to apply in the outside world.

Then Beta turned to the final member of the team. "And who might you be?" Beta asked.

"I'm Rocky!" said the Onix. "I'm the biggest!"

Beta couldn't dispute that. "It's a great pleasure to meet you Rocky," Beta said. "I hope we will all become good teammates."

"No," Rocky said. "I don't think we will. You're kind of weak, and all."

Beta looked taken aback. Theo frowned and nudged Rocky with his foot. He seemed to be trying to quiet the Onix down, but Rocky didn't even notice him.

Beta looked to the ground. Rocky had a vacant expression on his face; he didn't even seem to notice that he had insulted the psychic type.

"I mean I'm pretty strong already," Rocky said. "So's Theo, especially now that he evolved. Walnut may not be too strong right now, but he'll evolve someday and he'll be stronger then. And Theo and I are still going to evolve further too. But you're not."

"Maybe it's time to be quiet now," Theo said gently. Walnut took a more direct approach and whacked Rocky with his tail. The Onix didn't seem to feel it.

"Even that would all be okay if you learned some new moves," Rocky continued, blissfully oblivious to how uncomfortable the situation had grown. "But you can't learn ANYTHING. I don't understand how that's possible

Beta looked to the floor in sorrow. Like all Unown, it had wanted to improve itself. It had tried to learn basic moves like Tackle or Growl, but its efforts had met with failure – just like the thousands of Unown before it who tried to expand their movesets.

Growing up as an Unown, Beta knew that it was unlikely to ever be caught by a trainer. Trainers simply didn't catch Unown, because there was nothing you could DO with them. When Kamon had captured Beta, Beta had assumed he was just trying to complete his Pokédex. Beta had thought it would rot in the PC forever, and count itself lucky that it even had that. But Kamon had surprised Beta by welcoming it onto his team.

Beta had been ecstatic at first, hoping it would be raised on equal ground with all Kamon's other Pokémon. Its hopes had started to be dashed after losing so spectacularly to the trainer yesterday, and they were completely broken by Rocky's words just now.

"Hey," Theo said quietly. "I'm sorry if Rocky offended you." He patted Beta gently. "He means well, he just isn't the most observant Pokémon in the world. Usually that just means he crashes into something expensive, but today it means he's insulting the newest member of the team. And we're sorry about that. Because for what it's worth, you are a member of our team. And that makes you our friend."

"For better or for worse!" Rocky added unhelpfully. Walnut whacked him again with his tail.

"Thank you Theo," Beta said quietly. "I think I'd like to return to my Pokéball now."

"Sure," Theo said. Beta floated back off towards its Pokéball, pressed the circular button, and disappeared inside the ball.

It was completely unfair. What was wrong with Unown that they were unable to even learn a simple move like Splash or Tackle? If Rocky could learn over twenty moves, there was no reason why Beta could not learn a single one. After all, Beta hated to speak ill of its teammates, but Rocky was certainly not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Yet he could do things that Beta could not.

Well that was going to change. Beta had an opportunity that very few Unown had – to be a contributing member to a trainer's party. It intended to make the best of the situation. And that meant that no matter how hard it had to work, it would develop new moves to make itself more rounded. Maybe it could eventually return to the Ruins of Alph and teach those moves to other Unown. Beta liked the idea of that.

"Look out world," Beta thought to itself. "When they look back on the Unown species' evolution, they will say it began today."


	43. Chapter 43: Walnut

As he followed his trainer listlessly into the Pokémon Centre, Walnut gave a massive yawn.

It felt like they'd been looking for this Pokémon Centre for a lifetime. First they started following the wrong river, then Rocky got stuck in a sinkhole, and then they got chased by a particularly angry Mareep. All in all it had been an extremely long day, and Walnut sighed contentedly as he climbed up onto the Pokémon Centre's counter. Soon he would be fully healed and ready for a good night's sleep. He'd get his fur combed, the dirt washed out, and most importantly, a full meal. Pokémon Centres always had the best food.

The nurse was busy speaking with a young girl and her Spearow. Kamon waited patiently for his turn, gazing at the map on the Pokémon Centre wall. Walnut noticed that it wasn't much farther to Azalea Town. It always took longer to get someplace than Kamon expected, but it looked like they'd reach Azalea Town by the end of the week.

Walnut was lost in thought, and barely noticed the older man calling out to his trainer. "Hey! Hey kid!"

Kamon had been just as tired as Walnut was, and only now noticed the man was talking to him. He gave the man a tired wave.

"This area is great for fishing," the man said. "Looking at all these people fishing, did you feel like you wanted to try fishing, too?"

"I saw those fishermen," Kamon said. "I asked them for directions, and their directions weren't very useful."

The man looked discouraged. Then he reached behind his back and produced a faded, musty fishing rod. "I'm sorry to hear that. Fishermen are supposed to be more helpful than that. Would you like one of my rods?"

Kamon shrugged. "I guess so. I could use this to catch a water type, right?"

The man nodded.

"That would help balance my team out…" Kamon looked thoughtful. "What do you think, Walnut?"

Walnut nodded happily. If nothing else, the fishing rod looked very fun to chew on.

"Fantastic!" the man smiled. "That's called an Old Rod! When you want to go fishing, face the water and use the Rod first. Then concentrate and look closely at the water!"

"This is really nice of you," Kamon said. "Thanks-"

"An "! Appears when a Pokémon has taken a bite!" the old man smiled.

"Wait, what?" Kamon looked confused.

"Press the A Button quickly to pull back on the line. You'll see what happens next."

"There's no A Button on the fishing rod…" Kamon said. "I… must be more tired than I thought. I should probably go get some sleep. I'm sure my team's tired."

The man waved goodbye to him. "If there's water, be it the sea or a stream, try out your Rod!"

Kamon waved goodbye, and Walnut tried to get the nurse's attention. There were plenty of friendly people in the world, and many of them were happy to give away free things, but almost all of them were just a little strange.

The following morning, Walnut rose early and ate a hearty breakfast of premium brand Pokémon food. The rest of the party ate noisily; Theo ate more now that he had evolved, and Rocky was so excited that he very nearly rolled over on top of Walnut. After dodging the large rock type, Walnut looked over at Beta and saw the Unown wasn't eating.

"Aren't you hungry?" Walnut asked.

"Oh not at all," Beta replied primly. "I do not consume food as you mortal Pokémon do. My body provides all the nutrients I require. It's really quite an interesting process. You see, through telekinesis my body-"

"Sounds fascinating," said Walnut, who really could not have been more bored. "Does this mean I can have you breakfast?"

"I suppose," Beta said.

Walnut immediately pounced on the bowl of food. "Awesome! You're going to be a GREAT member of the team!"

"I… I will!?" Beta sounded excited. "Does that mean we're friends now?"

Walnut shrugged. "Can I keep eating your share of breakfast?"

"I suppose so," Beta said.

"Then we're _best_ friends!" Walnut patted Beta with his paw.

"Oh, this is wonderful!" Beta cried. "I've never had a best friend before!"

"Uhhh… okay. Come on best friend – let's go check out the vending machines!"

Walnut and Beta enjoyed exploring the Pokémon Centre's vending machines, and they enjoyed it even more once it was discovered that Beta, through extremely limited telekinetic powers, could cause chocolate bars to drop from the machine without paying for them. Walnut ate thirty seven different brands of chocolate coated candy, while Beta happily talked about how much he loved his new friend.

Eventually Kamon called his team over to them, and Walnut wiped his face. There was still some chocolate covering him, and he was hoping Kamon wouldn't notice.

"Alright team!" Kamon said. "Today we're going to try something new… hey Walnut, what's that brown stuff all over your fur?"

Walnut froze. He curled his tail around him to hide the chocolate smears.

"Is it dirt?" Kamon looked closer. "It is! That's really great Walnut – you must have been out training early by yourself this morning! Good job!"

Walnut smirked, and winked at Beta.

"So here's the plan!" Kamon announced. "Today we're going to try fishing. Walnut, since you showed initiative with your solo training this morning, you get to try it out first!"

Walnut clapped his hands together, and his stomach protested. The Sentret was excited at the upcoming day with his trainer, but his stomach was starting to feel a little queasy.

The fresh air helped calm Walnut's stomach, and he followed Kamon along a dock past some fishermen. A few of them challenged Kamon to a battle, and Walnut was happy to trounce their Goldeens and Poliwags. He was the only member of the team who could properly fight the water types – Theo and Rocky both had type weaknesses, and Beta was… well… Beta.

Walnut pounced on an unfortunate fisherman's Goldeen, fainting it with his new Fury Swipes attack. Walnut bounced on his tail happily in celebration. The fisherman was trying to exchange phone numbers with Kamon, which Walnut found more than a little unusual. He was pleased when his trainer declined.

"This looks like a good spot to fish," Kamon said, as the strange fisherman walked away. "What do you think, Walnut?"

Not being a water type, Walnut didn't have much thought on what fishing spots were best. The water all looked pretty much the same to him… cold, wet and blue.

"Let's give it a shot," Kamon said. He pulled out the Old Rod from his backpack, attached some bait to the end of the rod, and cast it into the river.

For the next few minutes, Kamon and Walnut sat silently, waiting for something to happen. Walnut had heard that some trainers used fishing with their Pokémon as bonding time, but he didn't imagine how much bonding could be done when both parties were just staring silently at the water. As Walnut was staring at the faint ripples in the water, bored out of his mind, Kamon's pole suddenly gave a sharp tug.

"We've got something!" Kamon shouted. "Get ready, Walnut!"

Walnut perched on the end of the dock, ready to attack. Kamon gave a great tug, and a Magikarp leapt out of the water.

"Walnut, Quick Attack!" Kamon shouted. Walnut jumped at the Magikarp and rammed into it, sending it back into the water. The Magikarp used Splash to flail around uselessly, and Walnut almost felt sorry for it. Then the Magikarp jumped out of the water again, headed right towards Walnut.

"One more Quick Attack!" Kamon ordered. Walnut leapt for the Magikarp and met it head on. He crashed into the fish, and it fell back onto the dock. It flopped around once more, and then collapsed.

"Good job Walnut," Kamon said. "Still… having a Magikarp as our first fishing opponent was kind of underwhelming. Here's hoping our next catch is a little more challenging."

From off in the distance, Walnut heard a fisherman laugh. "Don't count on it, sonny!"

Kamon and Walnut turned, and saw an older fisherman looking over at them. He was wielding a sleek, metallic fishing rod that looked about twenty years younger than the rod they were using.

"That there's an Old Rod," the man said. "You won't be catching much else besides Magikarp with that."

Kamon surveyed the Old Rod with disappointment. "I guess you get what you pay for… and this fishing rod was a gift. What kind of rod do you have?"

"A Super Rod," the man replied. "It has all the latest tricks – it even has a gizmo to make the bait more appealing to larger Pokémon. I could land Wailords with this thing!"

"Looks interesting," Kamon said. "Mind if I give it a try? I promise I won't try to catch anything."

"Knock yourself out, kid!" the fisherman smiled.

Kamon set his belt down, leaving his Pokéballs on the dock. "Push the Magikarp back into the river, Walnut," he said. "I want to go see what that Super Rod looks like. It would be great if we could buy one for ourselves."

With that, Walnut was left alone on the dock with the Magikarp. He knew that Magikarp could go at least twenty minutes out of the water, but it was still best to return the fish to its home. He prepared to push the Magikarp back into the water, when a Pokéball wiggled and Beta popped out.

"Hello, best friend!" said Beta.

"Who, me?" Walnut looked confused. "Oh right, I remember now. Thanks for your help this morning."

"Anything for my best friend!" Beta replied. It looked down at the Magikarp. "So is this your mid-morning snack?"

Walnut nearly gagged. "Wait, _what _did you just say!?"

Beta looked up at Walnut innocently. "I asked if you planned to eat this Magikarp. I know that you eat anything that you can, and this creature is lying here defenseless. So why don't you eat it?"

Walnut looked at Beta as though the Unown had lost its mind. "Because… I… you don't _eat_ Pokémon right after defeating them in battle! That's sick! What's the matter with you!?"

"But you eat mostly anything you come across," Beta replied. "I heard the story of how you nearly ate our friend Theo's Pokéball."

"That was an accident!" Walnut cried. "Why won't everybody let that drop!?"

"And Sentrets are omnivores besides," Beta continued. "I apologize if I've given offense. I confess the eating habits of you mortals confuses me. In the Ruins of Alph, us Unown consumed our nutrients by-"

"I don't care how you _consumed your nutrients!"_ Walnut shouted. "I wouldn't… I mean, I…"

Then Walnut thought about it. As a young Sentret he had never eaten another Pokémon, but that had mainly been because he was too small to catch one. He didn't know what he'd have done if he'd caught a Pidgey or something – they were so much faster than he was that the thought had never crossed his mind. And travelling with Kamon he had tried a number of exotic foods, ranging from Kamon's shoes to Kamon's belt to Kamon's Vs. Recorder. And he had defeated more Pokémon than he could count, but he'd never considered actually eating one of them. It just seemed so barbaric.

"I'm sure eating the Magikarp would be just wonderful!" Beta said happily. "I bet it would be crunchy and chewy at the same time! And spicy, and sweet, and bitter, and… those are all tastes that you mortal Pokémon enjoy, correct?"

For the first time, Walnut found his appetite start to diminish. There was something so creepy about what Beta was saying… but it did have some kind of twisted logic to it. Was a Pokémon battle all that different from a hunt in the wild for prey?

"Why not eat the delicious Magikarp?" Beta said. "Then you will be full and happy, and remember that the one who suggested you eat it was your wonderful best friend, Beta! Best friends forever!"

For one horrible moment, Walnut stepped towards the Magikarp. He couldn't really… _no._ There was something wrong with this, wasn't there? Was this normal?

Then the Magikarp opened its eyes. It looked over at Walnut in confusion, still dazed from the battle. "Kaaaaarrrrp?"

The noise brought Walnut back to reality. He shook his head hard, and smacked himself with his tail. What had he been thinking!? He quickly pushed the Magikarp off the edge of the dock, and it swam away into the river. Walnut watched it go, feeling like the worst Pokémon in the world.

"Was the Magikarp not to your taste?" Beta asked. "Shall we find another Pokémon for dinner, best friend? I understand baby Chansey are quite delicious – shall we search for one of them?"

"Go find another best friend," Walnut said. "You're creeping me out." He stalked off and settled down as far along the dock from Beta as possible. He didn't want to ever get involved in meal time with the Unown again. Each Pokémon had a unique diet, and Walnut figured it was best to leave well enough alone. He was a simple Sentret with simple tastes.

Within five minutes, Walnut was chewing on Kamon's Old Rod, and it tasted _delicious._

_Update: So A Story With No Phanpy is officially back! I should mention that the whole "daily updates" thing will not be returning - as I mentioned before, I felt like that led to a real decline in quality and I want to avoid that if I can. However you can expect more stories from Theo, Walnut, and everybody else in the very near future! Also, I've officially started my second every Pokémon fanfic - Slowbro Catches A Pokémon! I hope you take the time to check it out, and give it the same wonderful support that so many of you have given to A Story With No Phanpy. It's great to be back!_


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